


Dinners & Diatribes

by TheSorceress16



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya loses her patience, College, F/M, Identity Reveal, Jealousy, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Needs a Hug, Miscommunication, Pre-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Protective Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Rivalry, Roommates, Tikki and plagg are over it, Why can people not just talk to each other, nino is a good friend
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:55:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28167339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSorceress16/pseuds/TheSorceress16
Summary: Since graduating from high school: Alya, Adrien, Marinette, and Nino, had all enrolled in the same university and subsequently decided to move into an apartment together. Between too many secrets, misunderstandings, and new relationships, this is already promising to be an interesting arrangement…
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 32
Kudos: 141





	1. Here we begin...

Ladybug took a sip of her hot chocolate and sighed as the beverage warmed her from the inside out. She stood near the top of the Eiffel Tower, watching as the sunset and the natural light was slowly being replaced by street lamps. Soon, the monument itself would be glowing and add to the ambiance of the approaching nighttime. She turned and leaned back against the barrier, her blue eyes meeting dazzling green ones. 

“So,” she starts, smiling at her partner. “What a way to end the first akumatization of the year, huh?”

Chat Noir smiled and let out a breath, visible in the brisk winter evening. He leaned forward and shrugged. ”Of course! Nothing we couldn’t handle, Milady.” He held up the cup in his hands, watching the steam rise from the opening of the lid. “I’m not one to take handouts from the victims, but I’m grateful the barista offered to make us some drinks on our way out. It’s really chilly today.” 

Ladybug hummed in agreement. 

The hero continued. “Though I’m glad that even Hawkmoth seems to take a break during the holidays. I feel like we got a chance to rest up a little. It’s good to see you though. I hope you had a good holiday?”

“Yeah! It was lovely, I just visited family and friends. How was yours?”

“Pretty standard,” he says with a little bit of finality, bringing his coffee cup up to his lips. 

Although the two have been working together for years now, Ladybug knew Chat Noir’s family life was the one topic not to pry into. Obviously, they never said anything to reveal their identities, but she always noticed how tight-lipped he got when family came up. She nodded and took another sip. 

After a short silence, she spoke up again. “Anyway, what’s up with Hawkmoth’s villain names lately? I mean, ‘Expresso’? I feel like there are better barista-related puns out there. Still better than your cat puns though.” She smirked over the top of her cup, gauging Chat Noir’s reaction.  
He gasped and clutched at his heart, feigning hurt. “Ouch, Bugaboo! You wound me with these false accusations. Maybe a cat’s got Hawkmoth’s tongue, but I’m still purr-fectly capable of making great puns!”

Ladybug laughed and nudged him in the side. “Really now? Well, I’m not too impressed as of late. I think you’ll have to try a bit harder, Kitty.”  
“I had some lovely jokes throughout our fight today and you can’t deny that!”

Ladybug thought back. He’d done a good job with the coffee jokes throughout the fight. She did have a vague memory of Chat Noir declaring that the only caffeine he needed was her smile. “It puts some pep in my step any day,” he’d said. 

She turned to face the city of Paris again and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Yeah,” she murmured. “I guess so… I expect even better ones next time though!”

His smile came through in the tone of his voice as he spoke up again. “Of course, anything for you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ll have to see it to believe it.” Her head bounced on his shoulder as he chuckled. 

The two settled into a comfortable silence, watching over the city and drinking from their hot chocolate to help keep warm. Ladybug wasn’t sure of how much time had passed when Chat Noir’s ring started to chime, letting them know their time was up for now. 

“Ahhh alright,” he mumbled. “Time for me to get out of here. I’ll see you later this week for patrol!”

Ladybug smiled. “See you later, Kitty Kat.” She waved as he jumped from their perch and used his staff to propel himself down and out of sight. 

With her cup nearly empty and her partner gone, Ladybug bathed in the light of her city. She loved the view up here; there were few things she’d come across in her eighteen years of life that could compare to it. 

‘It’s a lot better than the view from my apartment’ she mused to herself.

“Oh my god! My apartment! The dinner is tonight!”

Ladybug hastily downed the last of her drink and got out her yo-yo, prepared to leave the lights of the tower behind. A thought in the midst of her inner monologue of ‘I’m late, I’m late, I’m late’ had her switching directions last minute. There was one stop she needed to make before getting home. Ladybug then swung off into the night, a flash of red heading in the direction of a certain bakery. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Since graduating from high school: Alya, Adrien, Marinette, and Nino, had all enrolled in the same university and subsequently decided to move into an apartment together. To this day the four of them have no idea what sort of miracle had occurred to get Gabriel Agreste to agree to this living arrangement. (Adrien secretly always thought that Natalie held more power over the stoic man than it appeared.) Tonight marked the eve of the beginning of the second semester of their freshmen year. Tonight was also the first time the four of them had been under the same roof all winter break. As per usual, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was the very last of her roommates to bust through their apartment door, arriving approximately 25 minutes late to the first apartment dinner of the new semester. 

“Well well well, Miss Dupain-Cheng finally decided to join us.” A laughing Adrien greeted the rushing girl by their front entry.

“Guys, I am so sorry! I was-”

“Girl, what was it this time, ‘a meteor crashed on the sidewalk where you were walking’ or ‘your parents needed you to decorate two-million cupcakes within the hour’ or was it that-”

“Very funny Alya, I will have you know that I just so happened to graciously stop by and grab some dessert for us on my way over, but if you all are not interested…” Marinette, cockily sashaying into the dining area, knew as soon as she pulled out the box of macaroons her tardiness would instantly be forgiven. The room immediately erupted with pleas of apologies. 

“Come on, Nette! I was just messing around!” ''My bestie, wouldn’t do me that dirty! Girl, I’m sorry!”

“Order, Order! Dude and Dudettes can we all be seated so we can enjoy our “Za” and the finest bottle of wine your dude could pick up at the gas station down the road?” Ah Nino, always the voice of reason in the group.

The four took their places and Adrien began filling their glasses as Alya in her most diplomatic voice chirped, “ I propose a toast! Here is to the first apartment dinner of not only the semester but the New Year! Also to Gabriel “Daddy” Agreste for still allowing Adrien to live with us even after the self-tanner incident!” 

“Alya we agreed not to discuss that again” Marinette giggled looking at an annoyed blonde across the table. 

“She also agreed to stop referring to my father as Gabriel “Daddy” Agreste, but it doesn’t appear like that is really going to happen so-”

“Ahem, as I was saying” the fiery redhead shot them a look. “Cheers to a New Year, new semester, and new adventures!”

“I’ll drink to that babe! Before I forget, one of my music production classes will be pairing with a local music venue and for our midterm, we will each get to perform a set so you all better be there!

Words of “Count me in!” and excitement filled the room as plans were being made for an after-party to celebrate the DJ’s surefire success and celebration of completing midterms. The four began to fall into a comfortable conversation they had all grown accustomed to. Soon Marinette’s head started to wander. How exactly had she gotten this lucky? Well, she thought a small red friend of hers probably was a large part of that luck, but regardless she was a promising fashion student who was a top candidate for the Gabriel summer internship program and was happily living with her best friends (one of which being her former crush. Yes former crush, well most days... fine, not so former crush, but she was working on that) On top of that she was ladybug which was her biggest stressor but was also granted her the greatest sense of freedom. Akuma attacks had become such a regular occurrence and sometimes she even looked forward to them, flying through the air with that crazy cat of hers. That crazy cat who sometimes she thinks she might be starting to have-

“Marinette! Hello!” Alya waved a hand in front of her best friend snapping her out of her reverie. “Girl, did you hear anything I just said?”

“Oh no sorry, Al. Just have a lot on my mind”

The reporter snorted “Lol what else is new! I was just asking how that hunk of yours was doing? Is Enzo still on that mission trip?” 

At the mention of Enzo the A-hole’s name a certain tall blonde visibly tensed and rolled his eyes.

“He just got back yesterday! The plan is to see him tomorrow. He mentioned that his schedule would be lighter going into his final semester so we will probably get to see each other a lot more”

‘Oh goody’ Adrien thought sardonically.

Marinette had met Enzo Amedee at one of those annoying freshmen welcome events where he had been a group leader. That night he had invited her out to dinner and apparently they hit it off. Over the next couple of weeks, they were always together, and eventually, she introduced him to the gang. Alya and Nino were instantly supportive of the two and even were just as enthralled with him as Marinette seemed to be. Adrien was a different story, he thought the guy was the slimiest human he had ever met and he went to school with Lila Rossi and was cousins with Felix Graham de Vanily, so that was really saying something. From the very moment the two met, the leather-clad hero had his reservations. Do not get Adrien wrong he tries to see the best in people, but this guy, not the case. Enzo was from a family of missionaries, often retelling stories of the countless people he himself had helped and saved from the brink of death in these poor rundown places. If there was one thing that Gabriel had taught his son it was how to spot a liar and Enzo fit the bill. When it boiled down to it, he had no concrete evidence that Enzo was a sleazeball. He just had a gut feeling, which he learned was never wrong, but until he knew for sure he would just keep an eye on him. In an attempt to change the subject before crossing too far past the line of self-inflicted irritation the son of the fashion mogul queried, “So Nino have you started working on any new mixes for your show?

“Dude I have been meaning to talk to you about that. I wanted to throw in some classical beats and was wondering if you would be willing to work with me on making an original piano composure and play it for me so I could mix it? 

“Ah takin’ it Bach to the basics, huh? In need of an ivory ticker. I think I can Handel that.” The model gleamed chuckling at his own joke. 

“Oh God, sunshine. That was truly awful. Two puns and ivory tickler. Where do you even come up with that stuff?” 

In a bow that bore quite the striking resemblance to that of Chat Noir, Adrien leaned down grabbing his chest, and declared, “Almighty Lady blogger, you wound me. You see I have the best jokes in the land. It seems as though you need a lesson in punery”

“Now you’re just being dramatic!” Marinette piped in rolling her eyes feeling a sense of familiarity with that exchange, but unable to fight off the sleepiness in her mind to truly delve further into it. Seeing a similar sleepiness fall over her three friends the bluenette suggested they finish their drinks and turn in for the evening. 

The model is the first to agree “ I have my Physics 3200 lecture at 8 am, so I think that’s a good idea.” 

“You’re one semester in. Is the old man really forcing you to take 3000 level classes already?”

“I mean I am not happy about it either, but it was a compromise. I wanted to major in Physics and Father wanted me to Major in Finance, so double majoring seemed to be the best course of action. “

“Well 3000 level or not, you better get over here and help with...” Before Alya could even finish that thought Marinette and Adrien had run off to their own corners of the apartment momentarily escaping her wrath, Nino was not so lucky. 

“Looks like it’s just you and me babe. Jokes on them they forgot about the macaroons Mari brought home.” The reporter stated matter-of-factly. 

“Did you know you’re hot when you’re sneaky?” Nino mused as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend’s waist as she plopped a raspberry macaroon in his mouth.


	2. Chapter 2

One week into classes and Adrien was convinced that all of his professors did not believe in an easy first week back. They clearly wanted him to suffer. Blame it on the black cat’s bad luck. Walking out of his 11 am macroeconomics lecture, the model was contemplating all of the assignments that were already building up on his plate. So far he had three quizzes, two lab reports, and one paper all due within the next week-and-a-half not to mention the job shadowing his father was forcing him to do with the CFO of Gabriel and his secret job as a masked crime-fighting vigilante. By some miracle, the boy had not been scheduled for any photoshoots...yet. Checking his phone Adrien mentally rejoiced as he came to the realization that he had roughly an hour before his next class. As if on cue the deep growl of a stomach rumbled through his ears along with a tiny whine.  


“Adrieeennn, I am so hungry I think I might dieeeeee.” 

Adrien gave a frustrated huff, “Plagg, I gave you a whole wheel of camembert before we got to campus this morning there is no way you could possibly be hungry again”  


“Well that was four hours ago, what do you expe-”  


“I expected you to not eat the entire thing in one bite, you glutton. “  


The Kwami knew the boy had a point, but how was he supposed to resist the love of his life, his camembert?  


The blond rolled his eyes trying and failing to ignore his little friends whining “Lucky for you I am going to need something to get me through the rest of the day and I know a little place that makes the best three-cheese danish”  


Plagg seemed pleased enough with Adrien’s solution, so zipping up his coat and tightening his scarf he walked through the doors of one of the buildings on campus and headed toward the coffee shop.  


The weather was remarkably cold that day and the coffee shop could not have felt farther away. By the time he had reached the door he could no longer feel his toes, he really hated the cold weather. As he made his way to the counter he noted that everyone else on campus had the same idea as him; the place was packed and he doubted he’d find a table.  


“What can I get you today?” the barista asked, smiling up at him.  


With a model smile, Adrien delivered his and Plagg’s order and stood off to the side of the counter to wait. The cafe was bigger than he expected with around twenty tables and a long bar that was currently full of people glued to their laptops. The smell of the pastries made him think back to his high school days when Chat Noir would sneak on to Marinette’s balcony for a midnight snack. She would give him leftovers from the bakery and they would talk for hours. He never understood why Marinette was so warm and welcoming toward Chat Noir but would stutter and act so shy around Adrien. Over the years the stuttering subsided and they started to become very good friends. It was so funny to think back to those days before he knew that sassy side of her that he has come to admire.  


“Adrien,” the barista brought him back to attention as he reached over the counter to grab his order, he thanked them and turned to leave. Right before he reached for the door handle he heard his name called out again and turned back to the barista to see what he had left. The voice did not come from behind the counter but from a small table in the back of the cafe where Marinette was sitting eating something that was covered in chocolate.  


When he saw Marinette his body instantly felt warmer and his smile had grown from the fake model smile he gave everyone, to the secret toothy grin that only a few got the pleasure of seeing. The last time he had seen any of his roommates was probably their ‘start of the semester dinner’. Sure, he saw them in passing, but the most conversation any of them had was a tired sigh and a wave before separating to their own rooms.  


“So mister model what brings you here?” The blunette gave him one of her signature smirks.  


“Well, miss soon-to-be world-famous fashion designer I could ask you the same thing?”  


“Oh stop!” Marinette said with a laugh and the slightest blush. “Sit down and stay a while why don’t ya.”  


Adrien pulled out one of the four chairs from the small table and sat down across from his friend. The two started chatting back and forth both inquiring how the other’s day was going and how the hell they were both so busy at the start of the semester. Adrien being too engrossed in the conversation missed Marinette’s eyes started to wander from his to the space right behind.  


“I was beginning to wonder what was taking you so long to get back to me? Marinette spoke.  


“Nette what are you talk-” Adrien began speaking but was interrupted by another voice behind him.  


“Oh, c’mon babe. You know I would never leave you alone for too long. Plus it looks like you found some good company.”  


Adrien turned around to see a familiar tattoo-covered man with deep brown eyes, a well-kempt beard, and long dark hair that rested a little past his shoulders. The man was about 5’10 which was nowhere close to the blonde’s height but the man did look burlier and a bit stronger than Adrien did, but he knew for a fact he was not stronger than him thanks to his miraculous and some pretty great genes.  


“Enzo. Hello.” Adrien uttered dryly.  


“Agreste! Long-time no see! I hope you had a blessed New Year!” Enzo took his place in the chair next to Marinette and cuddled her close, kissing her passionately.  


‘Jesus, he is so touchy.’ Adrien thought bitterly  


“My New Year was fine. How was yours?” The blonde questioned half-heartedly.  


“Mine was so fulfilling. I had the amazing opportunity to travel with my family’s ministry to Ghana. There is no better way to start the new year than getting to spread the word of god while helping to build communities” Enzo preached.  


Marinette’s whole face broke out into this sappy smile and she held him tighter. Adrien examined the scene wanting to gag but choosing to speak instead “So, Enzo what all did you do on this mission trip?”  


Enzo seemed taken aback by the question, answering merely with “Oh you know… The typical mission trip stuff.”  


“I’ve never gotten to go on a mission trip so I am not too familiar with what all goes on.”  


Enzo looked up at the model with a question in his eyes “We often build things and preach and just help with little odds and ends. My group really focuses on community relations.”  
“What kind of things do you build and what kind of odds and ends?” Adrien continued to question.  


Marinette glared at her friend and voiced “Adrien chill out. You don’t need to give him the third degree.”  


“Nettie, it’s alright. Truth be told I contracted a virus over the trip and was not able to help out as much as I wish I could have. I am sorry I did not mention it to you before, I was sort of embarrassed…” Enzo gave a sheepish smile and grasped Marinette’s hand.  


“Enzo! I am so-”  


Adrien interrupted Marinette in her condolences to continue his line of questioning “Oh what kind of virus? I hear those are nasty. What were your symptoms?”  


“I...Uhh.” Enzo started to think of a response, but Marinette interjected telling Enzo that he did not have to answer that and asked what had gotten into her friend.  


“Nothing has gotten into me. I’m just curious. I am sure I have bothered you two long enough. Thanks for the seat, Nette. I’ll see you at home.”  


“Adrien, you don’t need to leave!”  


“Oh, I need to be getting to class anyway. I’ll see you tonight!”  


The tall boy got up from the chair and gave the couple a smile and a wave and exited the coffee shop with his drink and the danish.  


“That was rough kid.” the black cat popped his head out of Adrien’s jacket pocket.  


Adrien grumbled and spoke to the Kwami “Shut up Plagg and eat your danish”  


“What is your deal with that guy anyway? Is it because he got all cuddly with your girlfriend?”  


“For the millionth time, she is just a friend. She can get cuddly with whoever she wants. I just do not like the guy is all and where does he get off calling her “Nettie” Adrien retched.  


“Oh, surrrrrre. Just a friend..” Plagg said skeptically under his breath  


“What did you just say?” Adrien probed, vexed at the insinuation his Kwami was making.  


The Kwami did not clarify what he meant and Adrien just grumbled mumbling his frustrations to no one in particular as he wallowed around campus for the rest of the day. At least it was Friday and tonight he would finally get to help Nino on that project of his. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Adrien, I just wanna thank you again for doing this,” Nino stated, giving his best friend a pat on the back.  


The blonde smiled. “No problem, bud. I’m happy to help in any way that I can! Now where should we start?”  


He turned his attention to the music equipment in front of him. A desktop was set up with a handful of high tech devices connected. The plethora of buttons made Adrien a little nervous, and he made sure to keep from accidentally pressing anything lest he ends up ruining Nino’s progress. The music production student pulled a keyboard up from the side of the room and Adrien helped him set it up on its stand and connect it to the desktop. Nino played a few random notes to confirm that everything is hooked up correctly.  


“Okay! So now that the keyboard is connected, here’s what I need you to do. Well, actually it might help if you hear the beat I’ve made so far, so you have an idea of what we’re working with.”  


Adrien nodded and watched as Nino clicked a few buttons on his mouse, setting up the software. “What’s all of this called? The program you’re using?”  


“Logic Pro X! It was a gift from my folks. It’s supposed to be pretty good for music production, like garage band on steroids.”  


“Oh, nice!”  


Adrien wanted to say more, but a beat began to play from the speakers. After a few moments, he started to hum along. Nino gestured to the piano and clicked the record button. Adrien attempted to play his melody along with the music.  


“Yes! That’s sounding pretty good,” Nino exclaimed. “Do you think you could add more of a classical flair to it? I know the beat sounds like pop right now, but the project calls for a mix of at least two different genres.”  


“Sure! I can try and make it more classical.” He stopped and listened to the beat for a few more moments and tried again. “How’s this?”  
Nino looked like a kid in a candy store. “I’m loving what you’re doing here, man! Lemme save this melody, then maybe could you help me with a few of the counter-melodies I wanted to add?”  


“Of course!”  


The two continued to work and after a few hours, they’d reached a compromise on the melodies. After playing the main one so many times, Adrien would not be surprised if it got stuck in his head for at least a few days. They parted ways when Adrien remembered he needed to stop by his father’s house to pick up a few things. Saying goodbye, he headed to his room.  


Plagg floated up from where he was watching a video on different dishes that can be made with a good wheel of Camembert. “Aw, is it already time for patrol?”  


Adrien smiled and scratched his Kwami under the chin. “You know it bud! Let’s go!” 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When Ladybug got to the meeting place, Chat Noir was already there seated at the ledge of the roof. He was humming something and as the masked teen got closer, she still couldn’t place the tune. She stood there listening to his humming for a few moments. Although he kept his voice low, Ladybug guessed that he had a lovely singing voice.  


“What a beautiful song, kitty cat.”  


Chat Noir turned his head to look at her. He smiled sweetly and leaned back until he was resting against the rooftop. “Thanks! It’s actually from a song a friend of mine is making. We aren’t finished yet, so that’s all you’ll probably hear for a while. It’s been stuck in my head, but I don’t really mind. What do you think of it?”  


“It sounds really good!” She sat down and looked over at the black cat. “You said ‘we’? I didn’t know you made music. That’s pretty cool.”  


“Oh no, it’s nothing. My friend is the one with all the talent! Music isn’t really my forte,” He winked at her and continued. “I keep telling him he’ll be touring all over Europe someday.” Chat Noir had a sparkle in his eye that proved just how much he meant that statement.  


“Well, once he’s famous you’ll have to get me tickets to one of his shows.”  


“Sure! I’ll even get you a backstage pass if that tickles your fancy.”  


She laughed and stood up again. After stretching and popping her back, Ladybug poked Chat Noir in the side with her foot. “C’mon, let’s get started you lazy kitty.”  


He groaned in response and rolled over. A moment later, he was back on his feet and looking down at his companion. “Lazy kitty, my ass! I’ll race you to Notre Dame, shortstack!” He ruffled her hair and dashed away, hoping to get a head start.  


“Ugh, so not fair! And I’m not that short,” she called after him. The only answer she got was his laughter being caught in the wind. Ladybug rolled her eyes and started after him.  


“What am I gonna do with him?”  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The second and third weeks of school were fairly uneventful. Most of the gang were prepping for their first tests and just settling into their normal routines. All was pretty quiet aside from an Akuma attack or two and a few defeats of Mr. Pigeon which Ladybug and Chat Noir no longer counted as a legitimate threat, just an annoyance. That was until the following Wednesday night. Alya and Adrien were in the kitchen of the apartment setting up for dinner when a certain disgruntled baker’s daughter came barreling in.  


“I fucking got a 67% on my first Physics test!” Marinette raged. “67!? Who even has a test in the fourth week of school! This is RIDICULOUS!!”  


“Well, Nette I had two on Monday…” Adrien interjected  


“DO NOT START WITH ME AGRESTE!” Marinette roared at her rather scared looking friend, making her way closer to him looking like she was about to pounce.  


“Woah, girl! Watch his face! That is the money maker after all. Adrien was just being a dumb boy, see look, dumb.”  


Adrien stared dumbfounded at his two friends just completely and utterly confused with everything as he was somewhat cowering in the corner.  


‘I do not understand women’ Adrien thought trying to figure a way out of the hole he had dug himself into.  


“Hey, Mari…”The boy began timidly, trying to gauge her reaction. The woman slowly turned her head hellfire burning in her eyes. It was like in one of Adrien’s favorite animes where the character clenches their fist and was about ready to attack. He thought he had no choice but to speak. “Physics is one of my majors and I’m fairly good at it. Why don’t I tutor you?”  


The girl’s face twisted from the rather scary snarl into a sweet smile of gratitude. “Adrien I really appreciate it but you really do not have to.”  


“I know I don’t have to, I want to. The first session starts tomorrow night at 6 pm in my room, I assume you know the place?”  


The girl snorted. “I think I can find my way...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Thank you all for reading and for your sweet comments. They always keep us going. A lot of what we write is from the American perspective as my writing partner and I are both college students in the states. We may try to incorporate some more french aspects, but I am not sure if my four years of french will really be able to help in that department. We always love getting ideas and comments so feel free to reach out. We started this about a year ago just to have a little fun and get into the world of writing fanfic again. Things got busy and we took a break from it and now here we are. We really hope you enjoy the story and can't wait to hear from you all! Stay tuned for next week when the angst starts to begin... :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small order of fluff with a side of angst :)

“I’ll meet you there in just a sec!” Mari said calmly, shutting her bedroom door behind her as she proceeded to break into a mad dash for her closet. Once she reached the closet the girl began throwing clothes behind her all the while muttering “no that’s not right” and “ugh that one makes me look weird” every time she would discard a new top, before finally switching out her ratty old tee-shirt for a cute black oversized sweater with bows on the end of the sleeves. After her quick costume change, she made her way to the bathroom to freshen up her makeup and pour a rather generous amount of mouthwash in her mouth. As Marinette was reapplying her perfume she noticed her small red best friend giving her a look that was equal parts concern and disapproval. 

“Marinette, what are you doing?” The red creature questioned. 

“I’m just freshening up a bit, Tikki. It’s been a long day you know, and I don’t want to totally gross out my friend” The bluenette explained. 

The Kwami retorted “Well you never seem to ‘freshen up’ this much for any of your other friends, plus Adrien has seen you at some of your worst moments.” Tikki laughed then continued “Like that week last semester where you showered maybe one time and-”

“Oh my gosh, do I need to shower?!” The girl interrupted heading back into her bathroom.  
Tikki flew in front of her chosen, stopping her from entering the bathroom “Marinette...are you sure all of this isn’t because this is Adrien? I know how you feel about him.”

“Oh Tik, don’t be ridiculous! Adrien’s my friend! Plus we are just studying and I’m about to be late.” Marinette smiled as she opened the door. She knew good and well it was no use hiding her thoughts from her Kwami but truth be told, she hadn’t even realized she was doing that mad dash until Tikki had said something.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Down the hall, a similar exchange was taking place. Adrien was staring into his bathroom mirror tossing his hair every which way it could possibly go, never quite finding the look he was going for.  
“Chill out kid. I thought she was ‘Just a friend’” Plagg said with a roll of his big green eyes. 

“She is, Plagg. This isn’t even about her. My hair just feels weird on my head.”

“Oh, and you doused yourself in cologne because…?”

Adrien shot the Kwami a look “I put on cologne because I don’t want my room smelling like your disgusting camembert. It smells like dirty socks.”

“AND WHAT IS WRONG WITH DIRTY SOCKS!”

There came a knock and the kwami zoomed away right as the door began to open revealing a perplexed Marinette. 

“Um, who were you talking to?” She asked

“Oh! No one! It was just an anime heh.” After a few seconds of silence, Adrien spoke with a grin “Marinette, did you change your shirt?” 

Marinette began to sputter out “Oh...No-I-I mean yeah! You know what they say! Dress to impress. Not that I’m trying to impress you, because I’m not, not that I don’t-wait...did you put on cologne?

Adrien’s face instantly grew red. “Yeah! I needed to because I..um...went..the gym! Yeah, the gym... SO PHYSICS!” He said a little too energetically.

The two sat on Adrien’s bed and began their study session with him going over the notes Marinette had taken that day. He would occasionally quiz her on all the little topics they would go over. Everything was going fairly well until they reached a concept Marinette just could not grasp. 

“Ugh! I know I sound so dumb, but I just don’t get the whole tension and velocity thing!” The girl spoke, tossing her hands up in air frustratedly then releasing them with a thud and throwing her head back. 

The blonde reached for her shoulders pulling her back up into attention “Okay you are not dumb. I’m just not explaining it very well. How about I try to explain it like this, Do you remember that video Alya posted yesterday of Ladybug flying up the Eiffel tower with her yoyo?” Marinette did not actually watch the video but knew the exact move he was talking about, so she nodded indicating him to keep going with this. “Well after she wrapped the string of her yoyo around the tower she leaned back making the string tighter, right? Well, when she pulled it back that caused more tension on the string; the more tension the farther she is going to go. When it comes to velocity and its relation to tension, the more tension you have the faster you’ll go. The more tension she has the faster she’ll get up the tower. Does that make sense?” The blonde explained. 

“I think I got it!” She bobbed excitedly. It really did make sense to her! When he put it that way it seemed so stupidly easy and honestly most things did when he explained it.

“Adrien, I don’t know how you do it!” The girl was grinning widely. “It just makes sense when you explain it. I know I would be lost without you.”

“This is all you, Nette. You’ve got all the pieces, I’m just here to help you fill them in.” He smiled looking from her to his watch realizing he should probably call it a night if he still wanted to make it to patrol on time. “I think we are making great headway. Why don’t we call it a night? We can meet up again Monday. Your brain needs time to digest all this before we shove more in!”

“Sounds good to me. I’m beat!” Marinette straightened her back leaning to either side to give it a good stretch before looking back to the tall blonde next to her. “Thank you again for all your help. Who knows, maybe I could even get an A on next week’s quiz.” She threw him a wink before wishing him goodnight and heading back to her room only to call upon her transformation and make her way into the night as Paris’ favorite spotted heroine.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ladybug came to a stop at the top of the Montparnasse Tower. She caught her breath and turned to look for her partner, sure that she had seen him right behind her. After the two heroes had finished their evening patrol together, they decided to split up for one more round of the city before meeting to say goodnight. Over the years, Ladybug and Chat Noir have made a habit of saying farewell before heading their separate ways. Both had agreed that doing so would help to keep them in good spirits and ensure that nothing went wrong while patrolling. Scanning the buildings she had come from, Ladybug was surprised to see them vacant. 

“Looking for someone, M’lady?”

The pigtailed heroine jumped and turned to face her partner. “Goodness! You don’t have to scare me like that!”

He gave her a smug grin and tucked his staff into his belt loop, “Sorry, I didn’t know ladybugs were so jumpy.” He snickered at her and sat down on the rooftop. 

Ladybug came over and sat beside him. She sighed and brought her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on top and wrapping her arms around her legs. She noticed Chat Noir studying her face and stuck out her tongue at him, giggling. He smiled and rolled his eyes, but continued to study her face. Eventually, she became too curious. “What is it? Do I have something on my face?”  
Chat Noir blinked at her. “No, not at all! I just noticed… it seems like you have a lot on your mind right now. If you ever want to share, I’m here for you.”

The bluenette smiled softly at her companion. He was such a sweet person, always wanting to help her in any way that he could. After all these years, she felt like Chat Noir had done an exquisite job of sharing enough for the two to become closer while preserving their secret identities. She’s slowly gotten to know him better and even learned a little bit about his personality outside of the mask without revealing anything too specific. When it comes time for her to do the same, she can’t bring herself to talk about her personal life as readily. She wanted to try and be more open with him. She believed that he deserved that respect. 

“Ah, it isn’t much. I just…” she mumbled the rest of her sentence, “got a really bad exam grade.”

“Sorry, what was that?”

Ladybug groaned and covered her face with her hands. “I did very poorly on one of my exams and I know it’s just the first one of the semester, but what if I end up getting a bad grade overall? I’m surrounded by all these ridiculously smart people all the time. My friends aren’t having any problems. They’re all doing amazing things and I can’t even pass an introductory level class? I just… I don’t know. I’m feeling pretty inadequate right now.”

“Well,” Chat Noir murmured. “What class is it?”

Ladybug opened her mouth, ready to say “physics” before deciding that it is better to be as vague as possible. “It’s a science class. I don’t need it for my major, but I still gotta take it.”

“I’m kind of a science whiz myself, would you like me to tutor you?”

She smiled. “Thank you, but one of my friends already offered to tutor me. We’ve only met once, but he’s so good at this stuff and I’m a little afraid that I’ll disappoint him. What if his help isn’t enough? What if I just can’t do this?”

“In the several years I’ve known you, there isn’t anything you can’t do. You’re smart, capable, and I know that you’ll do a great job. You’ve already said this and I’m sure your friend probably has too, but it was only one exam. You have the ability to do even better next time and I’m certain that you will. You need to stop being so hard on yourself!”

Ladybug let out a deep sigh, getting rid of the tension in her body. “Yeah, you’re right. Thank you, Chat. I really do appreciate you.”

“No problem, Bugaboo. I’m glad I could help.”  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mari and Adrien had decided they would meet every Monday and Wednesday night for their study sessions, with the occasional Sunday session prior to tests. Having two sessions under her belt the superheroine felt pretty confident going into her quiz on Wednesday and never in a million years expected the score she received. Once again Marinette came barging into her apartment this time finding Adrien making his way into the kitchen and Alya and Nino already eating. She was standing at the door smiling from ear to ear when her eyes locked with her tutor’s. 

“I GOT a 100% ON MY QUIZ!!!!” Marinette squealed. 

“YES!!!!” Adrien’s face lit up as he began making his way over to Marinette, but before he could take a step she was running at him. The next thing he knew, Marinette had him wrapped up in a koala hug singing out praises of thanks and he began spinning his friend around saying “I am so proud of you” and “I knew you could do it”. 

Marinette, still all wrapped up in his arms and full of giggles, spoke nuzzling into his neck “Thank you so much. I know how busy you are and this means so much to me! I could seriously kiss you right now!” 

Adrien felt his body freeze and turn beet red. He soon became very aware of how close the two were to each other.

“UH MHM” the two instantly broke apart only to be greeted by the questioning eyes of Alya Cesaire. “Well, Sunshine, sounds like you’re one hell of a tutor.”

“Well I’ve got a pretty great student,” Adrien said slowly turning back to his normal model tan rather than ruby red. 

“Oh my gosh, I seriously can’t wait to tell Enzo tonight!” Marinette gushed.

“Tonight?” Adrien gave his friend a look of confusion. 

“Uh yeah. Sorry I forgot to mention I made plans with Enzo tonight, we haven’t gotten to go out in a while since he has been working more with the freshmen outreach program, so is there any way we can reschedule for later this week?” Marinette looked up at him with pleading eyes. 

Adrien knew his face must have looked irritated, hell he was irritated. He supposed it was her life he couldn’t make her study, but was he annoyed that she didn’t want to study or that she was going out with that asshole again. With a roll of his eyes and a pained smile, he said, “It is up to you. I mean you’re your own person. You do whatever you feel is right. I need to study for a test tomorrow anyway.” 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! Alya, will you help me get ready for tonight?” Marinette called out as she was hurrying out of the room and heading down the hall. 

Alya responded, “Right behind you, Mari!” and dashed after her friend in pursuit to help her get ready. 

While still in the kitchen Nino looked over his best friend and knew something was up, “You good, man?” he asked. 

"Yeah. Fine” Adrien scoffed as he headed toward his room.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alya began to section out her best friend’s hair, curling each section to perfection, while Marinette giddily applied her foundation.

“Girl, you seem excited!”

Marinette whipped her head in Alya’s direction nearly causing the redhead to burn her fingers in the process, “I am! I don’t think I have ever gotten 100% on a science quiz in my life! Adrien is really the best. I would be so lost without him.”

Alya examined her friend’s face and with a look of bewilderment and stated, “Honey, I was talking about your date, but that honestly brings me to something I have been meaning to talk to you about… I know you have said that you’re over Adrien but you have been spending a lot of time together and-”

“Ughh!” Marinette huffed loudly gesturing wildly with her beauty blender in her hand. “We’ve been over this Al. I’m with Enzo and Adrien is just my friend.” 

“Mari, I think that’s great and all, but you haven’t gone on a real date with Enzo all semester and you’ve been with Adrien a lot recently. It seems like every time I look up you two are giggling about something.” 

“Alya, please. Adrien is just helping me study and Enzo has been super busy. He is a senior-”

“He was a senior last semester and you were together all the time,” The redhead pointed out, concern sharpening her features.

Marinette sat down her beauty blender and grasped her best friend’s hands. “I know you’re concerned, but everything is fine, really! Enzo has been working a lot on that outreach program and hosting these one-on-one meetings to mentor freshmen. Alya, I appreciate you looking out I really do, but you know if there was something going on with Enzo or Adrien you’d be the first to know!” 

The bluenette’s best friend gave a warm smile and said, “I’m sorry. You know how I get. Call it the reporter in me and I’ll try to reign it in a bit. At the same time, I do this because I love you, Mari. Plus, you really seem to be moving on from Adrien and I just don’t want you to fall back into that-”

“Don’t worry! I’m doing fine. Now help me finish up. Enzo is going to be here soon!”  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Adrien, resembling more of his grumpy kwami than his supermodel self, headed down the hall and into the kitchen to retrieve a small snack, only for his mission to be interrupted by a loud knocking. 

“Can somebody get that please?” Marinette yelled from her room. 

Reluctantly he walked over to the door only to find Enzo on the other side. The model crossed his arms and stared down the other man as a tense silence lingered in the air. 

“Uh, so, um… you gonna let me in?” Enzo spoke, breaking the silence. 

The blonde boy mumbled under his breath “yeah whatever” he turned away about to continue his mission to find food when a hand reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Hey man, what’s your deal?” Enzo’s grip tightened slightly. 

“I’m fine. Why do you ask?” Adrien replied, turning to face the other man with a look of confusion.

“I think that you’ve made it pretty obvious that you don’t like me.”

Adrien felt a small spike of irritation bubbling inside of him as he turned around to address Enzo, and removed the man’s hand from his shoulder. “I just don’t like the thought of you lying to one of my best friends.”

Enzo looked confused. “What makes you think that I'm lying?”

“Oh stop playing dumb. We both know you aren’t as truthful as you seem. Now, what are your intentions towards Marinette?” 

“Well, If you have to ask, then you already know…” Enzo spoke with his lips twisting into a devilish smirk.

Adrien felt his blood start to boil as he clenched his fists at his side and stalked closer to the other man. “Answer the question. What are your intentions toward Marinette?” 

Enzo still smirking, looked as if he was about to respond when suddenly his smirk shifted into an over the top smile. “Babe! You look gorgeous.” Enzo walked towards Marinette managing to give Adrien a side-eyed glance as he passed. 

“Everything alright here?” Mari voiced in concern. 

Still standing by the door, Adrien could feel Marinette's eyes fall on him. He was fuming. He had half the mind to turn around and give Enzo a piece of his mind, but he knew that in the end that would just end up hurting Marinette, which was the last thing that he wanted to do. The model could not even bring himself to look his friend in the eyes, her beautiful sweet blue eyes. How dare that scumbag even imply doing something indecent to her. He wanted to tell her. He wanted to protect her.. but at the same time, she seemed enthralled with him. Also, it was no secret that Adrien was not a fan of Enzo in the first place, so he couldn’t go around accusing him of something when he himself wasn’t even sure of what was happening. Marinette would not take kindly to him accusing her boyfriend without any evidence... So, he took a breath, turning back towards the couple, giving a weak smile and spoke, “Yeah, everything is fine, Nette. Just super tired from classes today. 

“Are you sure?” 

Adrien began his walk past the two and gave Marinette a nod, “Yeah, I’m good.” Before walking out of sight he added: “Enzo is right, you do look stunning. Be safe tonight and I’ll see you tomorrow for our study session.” As he entered back into his room his expression fell as he could hear the sound of the front door shutting. Plagg floated out from Adrien’s pants pocket giving him a look filled with frustration.

“Seems like you were right, kid. So what are we gonna do about this?” 

“I need evidence, Plagg, and I think we know just the cat to get it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and commenting! Things are starting to get a little more "tense". We are hoping to post chapter 4 next Tuesday.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An old friend incoming....

The next night Marinette and Adrien met at 8 for their study session as planned. Both parties seemed in good humor as they ate dinner and chatted before they officially started studying. They both really enjoyed these moments, they were both so busy they rarely had time to just sit and catch up. Sometimes these conversations were three minutes, sometimes they were three hours, their study sessions just gave them an excuse to actually sit down and talk again. 

“Oh my god! I think my wine just went up my nose!!!” Marinette laughed hysterically 

“Hey, I’m just sayin’ I could give Nathaniel a run for his money with my artistic skills” The blond spoke dryly 

“That's beside the point! You turned Nino into a Picasso while he was asleep! I never thought you would fall prey to one Kim’s dares”

“I had my reasons for doing what I did” Adrien noted faking irritation and turning his nose up

“Oh really? And what shattered the morals of the almighty Adrien Alexander Agreste?” 

“If I recall Nino wasn’t the only one that passed out” Adrien pointed out and continued. “Kim thought it would have been very funny too, how did he put it, ‘See a dolled up Dupain-Cheng’ I sacrificed Nino to save you.” 

“Oh, my Prince Charming! However can I repay you for such a noble sacrifice? Marinette faked swooning across the table, ignoring the butterflies soaring in her stomach at this revelation. 

Adrien grabbed Marinette’s hand and leaned down to kiss it “anything for such a lovely princess.” The boy realized his slip as soon as the word left his lips. Before Adrien and Marinette had become friends in their later years of high school, Chat Noir paid many visits to the Dupain-Cheng bakery on his patrols. He had just wanted to get to know that side of Marinette that everyone else had seen. He prayed that she did not notice him saying his alter-egos nickname for her. He knew he needed to change the subject and fast “So… Shall we get cracking on physics?”

“Ugh, If we must. Can we review last week's material before we go over what we were supposed to cover yesterday?” 

“I think that would be a good idea! Do you have those flashcards I made you handy?”

Marinette handed Adrien the flashcards and he began quizzing her. After about 10 minutes Marinette had not missed one question of the old material. Adrien laughed every time she got one right as she would do a little victory dance. He loved that side of her, she exuded a confidence that rivaled only that of Ladybug. For some reason comparing the two of them always made his head hurt, he supposed that he had made some sort of face as Marinette stopped her little dance and asked if he was alright. 

“Yeah totally fine! You seem ready to move on to the stuff from yesterday” Adrien pulled Marinette’s book over so he could gaze over the information and see what he needed to recall. Ah yes, diffraction. He flipped to the end of the chapter and found some good questions to pull from.  
“Alright Nette, can you explain to me what diffraction is?” He looked at her expectantly. 

She seemed to mull over the answer for a moment and Adrien could practically see the gears turning in her head. “Uh…” she trailed off, lost in thought. “I really don’t think I can explain it to you…”

Adrien raised an eyebrow but jotted down ‘diffraction’ in his notebook so they could remember to come back to it later. “Okay… What about how wavelengths work?”  
Marinette shook her head. “I’m kinda foggy on that too. What’s the next question?”

After about 8 straight minutes of Marinette not being able to get one question correct, Adrien felt himself getting frustrated. “Marinette, where are your notes from class?” Adrien tried not to let the irritation he was feeling seep into his voice. 

“Well…. I-I uh didn't actually go to class. I can try to get notes from someone though”

“Wait, why didn’t you go to class?”

“To be honest, I was actually pretty tired after that date with Enzo.” Guilt racked Marinette’s features as she started to ramble. “The movie didn't even get out till like 12 and we just hung out for a while, then Enzo decided to sleepover. I just wanted to sleep in—“

“Enzo, of course.” Adrien interrupted her with a huff, his voice had dropped an octave. 

Marinette gave him a once over seeing the irritation on his features “Are you seriously getting mad at me right now? You know how I choose to spend my time is my problem, not yours.”

“Well, It becomes my problem when you start wasting mine.” 

Marinette was taken aback. She had no idea what to say. In all their years as friends, Adrien had never so much as raised his voice at her, let alone got mad at her. She could feel the blood rush to her face as the frustration of the situation started to become too much. 

Seeing Marinette in disarray, Adrien exhaled standing from the table, and said “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for and you’re right. How you choose to spend your time is your choice. I just really want to see you do well, Mari.” Adrien gave a sad smile. “ How about you get the notes from today and we can go over them later in the week, I promised Kagami I would give her a call tonight anyways.” 

With that Adrien exited the kitchen leaving a still stunned Marinette, once he reached his room he flopped onto the bed in frustration. Frustration at himself, frustration at Marinette, and most importantly frustration at that asshole, Enzo. He knew he needed to let out some steam, so he lifted his head from its hiding place in his pillow, retrieved his phone from his back pocket, and clicked on Kagami’s contact name.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Adrien watched his phone as the call connected. He turned down the volume at the rattling coming from the other end of the line, startled by the way Kagami’s keys jangled near the receiver. She looked down and smiled at him.

“Adrien, good evening! What have I done to be graced with yet another call from you this week?”

He smiled softly at her joking tone. “Oh, nothing in particular; I just wanted to see how you’re doing. Did you just get done with practice?”

“Yep,” she smiled and extended her arm to showcase her duffel bag and the sheathed sabre looped over one shoulder. With the momentary view, Adrien could see that Kagami was walking down a street he thought was surprisingly busy given the time of day. 

“It’s like what, seven in the morning there? When did you wake up this morning?”

“Probably four-thirty or so. Nothing beats an early practice! I gotta stay in shape if I’m gonna keep my spot on the Olympic team.” She said with a bright glint in her eyes. 

Adrien couldn’t help it, he smiled back at her. Kagami’s motivation was something truly inspiring to him. She made the impossible seem possible. Just seeing her put him in a better mood almost immediately. He could feel some of the tension melt out of his shoulders and he rolled onto his side. “Wow, with all this training you’ve been doing, I hope you’re making time for that girlfriend of yours. How is Asahi?”

Kagami blushed a little at the mention of her gymnast girlfriend. The two met at a Japanese Olympic team meeting and hit it off almost immediately. Adrien loved to tease his longtime friend knowing that she rarely got flustered. 

“We’re good! Really good! It’ll be a year this upcoming June. I’m hoping that if we get some downtime, we can convince her parents to let her come with me when I get a chance to visit Paris again.”

“That would be great! I’d love to meet her, and I’m sure she’d get along with everyone here.”

“Yeah, I’m excited for Asahi and Marinette to meet! They’ve actually been messaging occasionally. Marinette loves getting info on the designs for Asahi’s leotards. Sometimes I gotta help translate, but it’s no big deal when it’s for my girlfriend and one of my best friends. Speaking of Marinette...,” Kagami gave Adrien a pointed look. “I saw her latest Instagram post. She and Enzo are still together, huh?” 

“Oh? I guess I missed that post. Yeah, they’re still together. Anyway, what else do you have for the day?”

Kagami squinted at him, remaining silent to just take in his response. “Adrien, I’ve gone on enough fake dates with you to know when something is wrong. What’s up?”

Adrien feigned confusion. “What…?” Kagami continued to look at him with the same calculating stare. He sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically. “Nothing is wrong, it’s just been a long day. Plus I have a photoshoot this weekend that I’m not looking forward to.”

“Hmm, okay,” the Olympic fencer murmured. “I understand that you don’t like photoshoots. Anyways, what’s going on between you and Marinette?”

The blond winced at his friend’s words. Nothing could get past Kagami. He felt the fight go out of him as he let out another sigh. “Alright, you got me. I think Marinette and I just had a fight?”

“Why are you saying that like a question? Did you guys fight or not?”

Adrien ran a hand through his hair. “That’s the thing. It seemed like we were fighting but then I tried to end it and I honestly don’t know if things are gonna be okay between the two of us for a little while. I feel kinda bad, but I also don’t think I need to apologize. Or I guess I already did? I’m honestly not sure. I feel like everything I said to her came out wrong and that I let my emotions get in the way at first. I tried to de-escalate the situation but I kinda feel like I shut the conversation down prematurely and now I don’t know what to do. I don’t think I can go back out there and face her right now.”

Kagami was quiet for a little while, and the only sounds coming from the receiver were the hustle and bustle of downtown Tokyo. Adrien held his breath, waiting to see how she’d respond. “What specific emotions are getting in the way?”

The model opened his mouth to speak before stopping for a second. “I, uh… I guess anger?”

“Is that all?”

Adrien thought a little harder. “Frustration? Betrayal? I don’t know… it was just upsetting that Mari didn’t seem to realize how bad it was that she was letting some guy get in the way of her schoolwork. She rescheduled one of our tutoring sessions because of a date!”

“Adrien, let’s think for a second: if Nino needed your help with a class and he decided to reschedule a session to go out with Alya, would you still have this same reaction?”

“…I don’t know, maybe? What does this have to do with it? Nino and Marinette are two very different people.”

Kagami chuckled. “Exactly! Do you know what makes them different?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “Nino’s date with Alya wouldn’t change your relationship with him. With Marinette, it’s different.”

“I don’t think I know what you mean…”

She drew out each word as slowly as possible. “Oh, Adrien. You’re such a smart boy yet you really can’t seem to figure out your own problems, can you?” 

“Kagami,” Adrien whined. “Can you just get to the point? Please? I know I can be stupid sometimes.”

“Okay, okay, goodness you’re impatient. Honestly, I shouldn’t be the one to tell you this, you should know already. Just don’t get mad at me or say I never told you so. You’re obviously having such a hard time right now because you still have feelings for Marinette.”

“What?” Adrien sat up and sputtered. “What do you mean by ‘still’? I don’t have feelings for her now and I never have!”

He could see the amusement dancing in his friend’s eyes. “Okay, Adrien. If that’s what you want to believe, I won’t stop you. Just think about it okay?”

“There’s nothing to think about! Marinette is just a friend. Why would you even suggest this?”

Kagami shrugged. “I just call it how I see it. If you don’t wanna believe me, I can’t make you.” She looked up at something outside of the frame. “Sorry to drop this on you and leave, but I’ve gotta meet my coach for breakfast and he’ll throw a fit if he sees me on my phone for more than like two minutes. I’ll text you later when I have time. Please talk to Marinette, but not before you sort out your own feelings, okay?”

Adrien was still in shock but nodded. “Yeah, sure. Have a good breakfast.” He waved to Kagami and hung up, flopping onto his back. “Ugh…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you may have noticed we are trying to update every Tuesday. With school and our jobs starting back up we may be a little less frequent, but hopefully, that won't be a problem. In other new, it was super fun to write a little adrigami, but our headcanon version. We both love Kagami and hope to bring her back soon! This week was somewhat of a shorter chapter, but we are really starting to get to the real angsty parts. Hold on tight, the next few weeks maybe a doozy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Adrien is just not having a good time.

Adrien was having one of those mornings where everything that could’ve gone wrong somehow did. To start the day off, he overslept which made him late for class, then he spilled his tea all over himself, included his homework that was sitting on the counter, but to top it all off he got a call from his father (which in and of itself was stressful enough) who told him his weekend workload was being doubled. He just wanted to shut the world out at the moment. Putting his AirPods in he made his way to the library to get some quiet studying in and maybe a nap if the universe was kind. But the boy knew the universe was never kind, at least not to him, and today was no exception. Half through the walk to the library Adrien looked up to see the face of the only person who could possibly make the day worse staring at him down the walkway, Enzo.

“Just keep your head down and pretend like you didn’t see him and maybe he’ll go away” the blond thought. 

In the next moment, Adrien knew his plan was a failure as Enzo was making a b-line for him.

“Yo, Adrien! Wait up!” Enzo yelled on the sidewalk and broke into a jog to catch up with the model. Once Enzo caught up to Adrien, the younger man kept facing forward and released a long sigh and muttered, “Good afternoon, Enzo” 

“Blessed day, Adrien. You were just the guy I was looking for”

“Oh, and why is that?” 

“Well, I think you and I should talk. Wrong foot and everything. Marinette said this would be a good time to reach you. So, let’s grab a coffee. How ‘bout it?” The missionary suggested.

“As much as I would love that,” Adrien began with a look of annoyance, “I have to go to..”

“I thought you wanted me to give you an answer to your intentions question.” Enzo gave a knowing grin.

Adrien resisted the urge to punch him in the face right here, but he didn’t want to upset Mari further and he did want to know what this douche’s intentions were. 

“Fine. Let’s get coffee” Adrien faked a smile and turned to the man for the first time since the start of the conversation “The Caféothèque work for you?”

Enzo nodded and the two finished their walk to the Café in complete silence. Once they arrived both boys ordered and sat down at a secluded table near one of the large windows. Adrien took a long sip of his Earl Grey and looked out the window, it was a dreary day, that's for sure. 

“So...lovely weather we're having, huh?” Enzo joked, somewhat unsure of what to say.

“I’m not really a cloudy day kind of guy and I thought we established you were going to drop the act.” Adrien’s eyes remained looking outside at nothing in particular. 

“Huh. You’re right we did. So let’s just get down to business, Agreste.” Adrien always hated how he always pronounced the ‘e’ at the end of his name. At this point, he knew it was on purpose. “This may be awkward but I’m going to need you to stay away from my woman.” 

Adrien was so taken aback. He spluttered out his drink and laughed. 

“Excuse me? ‘Y-your woman’? ‘You’re joking!’ You realize you don't own her and quite frankly never will.” Adrien snapped. 

“Well, I don’t need to own her when she’s wrapped around my finger you feel me?” Enzo bragged with a laugh and a smug grin.

“No. I don’t ‘feel you’ and didn’t you say you were going to tell me what your intentions were, isn’t that why we're here?”

“Oh, let’s just say I've got that girl wrapped around my finger in more ways than one, and I intend to keep it that wa-.”

The blonde was fuming. His grip on his cup was tight enough that the lid popped off. He felt his face growing red with anger. “I swear to Plagg if I was not in public right now I would cataclysm that look off his face,” The boy thought grimly. He was going to kill him. He no longer cared what Marinette would do, he was going to do it.

“Stop. Fucking. Talking. You’re such an ass. You wonder why I don’t like you! Oh my god, this has got to be some sick joke. I swear I'm going to prove to Marinette what an ass you really are, Enzo!”

“Ha! Explain to me how you're going to do that without making yourself look like the bigger ass to her. Because from how I see it, you do a lot of criticizing me for trying to ‘control her’ but look at yourself, a jealous little man that is trying to control the actions of a girl he can’t have. You have been trying to control her for weeks, you’re no better than me, and wasn’t it you that made her cry last night?” Enzo picked up his cup from the table, stood, and spoke “I’ll tell Nettie “hi” for you tonight” as he turned to leave he gave Adrien one last wink.   
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Enzo incident royally ruined the rest of Adrien’s day, not that it was that great, to begin with. It seemed as if the universe had a grudge against him with the way nothing went right. His Econ quiz went horribly wrong, he’d dropped his phone at the gym and cracked the screen for the first time ever since owning a phone, and to top it all off his father called to let him know that he was scheduled for yet another photoshoot on top of his already ridiculously busy schedule. Plagg tried his best to keep his chosen in good spirits, but there was only so much he could do and his best efforts fell short that day. 

By the time Adrien was walking up the stairs to his apartment later that evening, he’d lost all of his energy. He let out a long sigh and fished in his pocket for his key. Finding nothing but his recently broken phone, he took off his backpack and brought it around to rummage through. After a few moments of searching and more than a little grumbling, he located the keys and opened the door. As if the universe was adding insult to injury, Adrien walked into the dimly lit room to see Enzo nipping at an embarrassed Marinette’s neck, his hands caressing her somewhere under the blanket. The two of them had clearly been ignoring the movie playing in the background. Marinette’s eyes met Adrien’s and the red on her face turned to an even deeper crimson. 

“Will you two just get a fucking room.” Adrien could feel his head pounding. He was so passed furious and so far done with today. He stomped down the hallway and slammed his door shut so hard that the pictures on his wall shook. He started to unload his bag when the previously slammed door swung open. There Marinette stood with kiss-bruised lips and a fire in her eyes. She had always been scary when she was angry, it was basically common knowledge to run and hide if you were on her warpath. Normally Adrien, like everyone else, would be terrified, but not today. 

“What was that! Go apologize! Now…!” Marinette seethed. 

Adrien narrowed his eyes and leaned down into a deep bow, letting his Chat sideshow “Oh Yes! How dare I! How dare I upset the princess” He hissed.

“Excuse me? What the hell did you just call me?” Marinette fumed.

“You didn’t seem to have a problem with it last night” The blond sneered, taking a big step closer to the young woman.

Marinette was red from her ears to her neck. She wasn't sure if she was angry or… or...was she.. turned on? She had never seen Adrien like this. What the hell was wrong with her! “NO! Keep it together Marinette. He was being a Jerk’ The girl thought, moving even closer. “I-I don’t k-know what you’re talking about and that's beside the point, Adrien! You were being rude and you need to apologize.” 

At first, Adrien didn’t move, they were mere centimeters apart and part of him was yearning to just move a little closer, but something held him back. “Fine. Whatever. If that’s what you want.” he spoke and turned to motion her out of his bedroom and down the hall. Once they reached the main room Adrien addressed Enzo with a look of disdain, “Marinette has instructed me to come and apologize for telling you to” he threw up air quotes “‘get a fucking room’, so I apologize for stating the obvious.” Adrien deepened his glare in Enzo’s direction before addressing Marinette once again. “Happy now?” 

Marinette was silently fuming. ‘Was he fucking joking?’ 

“You know what, Enzo, I am so sorry for Adrien’s behavior. Why don’t you join us tomorrow night for dinner? Maybe then he will be in better spirits?” 

“What?! Marinette, you’re joking? What happened to Taco Tuesday just being a flatmates tradition?” The blond spoke, getting increasingly more frustrated.

“Oh no. Did I offend our mighty prince? My apologies” Marinette sharply stated as she made her way back to her place next to Enzo on the couch, wrapping an arm around her boyfriend and placing a kiss on his cheek. With a huff and an eye roll, the tall blond retreated back to his bedroom to get away from the two lovers and hopefully cool down. 

Adrien shut his door and slumped down into his desk chair. He let out a groan of frustration, running his hands through his hair and letting them slide down his face into his lap. When he opened his eyes, Plagg was floating in his line of vision. “Kid, are you seriously pouting over this?”

The blonde glared at his friend. “I don’t pout and even if I did, you and I both know she’s being ridiculous! How could she invite that jerk to join in on one of our traditions?” He got up and started pacing back and forth as he got worked up again. “I just don’t understand what the problem is! She asked me to apologize, and I did! God, she’s so difficult to deal with lately.”

Plagg rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath. “Oh yeah. She’s difficult. Why do I always get stuck with the moody ones?”

“What was that?” Adrien stopped pacing to face the kwami. 

“Oh… nothing,” the little creature chuckled awkwardly.

“Whatever, Plagg. I’m going to bed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as many of you have already guessed...Enzo is an ass. He is somewhat of a Lila, but he isn't actually a liar. His family really are missionaries and he did go on those trips, but he just sucks. I know a lot of people, myself included, that have dated an "Enzo". They start out great and then...ugh. Mari is no different. Our WIP title was "Enzo the A-hole". Personally, I Kinda miss that title. Adrien may seem a little OC, but it's a mix of frustration and other stuff. Plus, they're older, people do a lot of changing from their middle school selves to college. Unfortunately, this will not be the end of the angst. As always we appreciate you all reading and are excited to hear from you all! Tune in next week for Taco Tuesday!


	6. Chapter 6

Taco Tuesday had been one of those things that no one remembered how it started, but it just did. Since the beginning of the school year, the gang had met one Tuesday a month and gorged themselves on margaritas and tacos. It was something Marinette had looked forward to every month, but not this time. She walked into the apartment, glad that no one else seemed to be home yet. She needed a little bit of time alone to mentally prepare herself for the dinner. She opened her bedroom door and Tikki emerged from her hiding spot in Marinette’s bag.

Marinette flopped on her bed with a massive sigh. She closed her eyes in a bout of silent meditation in an attempt to push away the stress she had been enduring recently when she felt a buzz erupt for the phone that was still in her right hand. The girl lifted her arm until the phone was in view to see a text from Enzo. 

“Looking forward to tonight, XOXO, E” Marinette groaned. She had tried to forget about the events of the night before and the invitation she had extended to the man and more importantly the harsh exchange between her and a certain young model. 

“Why has he been so difficult to deal with recently?” She thought. 

“What’s on your mind? You’re making that face again.” Curse her perceptive kwami. 

“Am I that obvious?” Marinette replied with exasperation.

“Well, maybe a little bit…” The kwami landed on her chosen’s desk, eyes wide with caution. After knowing Marinette for so many years, she could tell when the dark-haired girl was reaching the end of her fuse.

“I just can’t get over how rude Adrien was last night! Can you believe what he said? I mean honestly! What has gotten into him,” she complained.

“Marinette, you’ve got to remember that every argument is a two-way street.”

“I know but-”

Tikki cut her off. “You can’t put the blame on him alone. Both of you have been pretty tense lately. Maybe today will be good! When have you guys ever had a bad Taco Tuesday?”

“There's a first time for everything” 

Tikki gave her a skeptical look.

“Fine. You’re right. Everyone has their off days right, maybe tonight everything will be back to normal with Alya and Nino around! Plus it’s not like I have to be alone with him.” Marinette snorted.

“Uh… I think you might be forgetting something. Have you checked the schedule this week?”

“No… Why would that-OMG! NO! Tikki!!!” the bluenette prayed she was wrong as she bolted upright and dashed to the kitchen nearly running smackdab into the fridge. “No no oh no no no! This can’t be happening.” She looked at the neatly printed calendar on the fridge that listed the flatmates’ duties. Unfortunately for Marinette, it was her turn to help set up Taco Tuesday with none other than Adrien Agreste. Marinette raced to the drawer in the kitchen that held spare supplies in search for a pencil, in her desperate search she contemplated calling for her lucky charm until she found the thing she was searching for. She b-lined back to the calendar to start trying to erase the names when her tiny friend spoke from her cardigan pocket. 

“Marinette! It’s printed!! You can’t erase ink,” Tikki commented.

“Tikki, you always tell me I can do anything I put my mind to, I can do this!” she voiced determinately as she rubbed the eraser end of the pencil harder and harder into the calendar making little to no headway. In her desperate attempt to change her fate she missed the sound of the front door opening and a tall blond walking into the room giving her an odd look. 

“You know we printed that, right?” 

Marinette jumped and spun around facing the model, hiding the pencil behind her back in a failed attempt at being inconspicuous. 

“UH! Pencil..and uh calen-INK! YEAH! I-uh” Marinette took a quick breath and gave a small smile “I mean hey.” 

“Hey.” The blond boy chuckled at his stumbling friend and gave her a warm smile that lit up his features and the rest of the room. After all, there was a reason Alya called him ‘Sunshine’. They both just stood there smiling at each other from across the kitchen for a few moments before they both broke the silence at the same time.  
“I just wanted to..”

“I was thinking about…”

“I’m sorry about last night” they spoke in unison. 

Adrien grinned “Nette, I was out of line in more ways than one. You have no reason to apologize.” 

“Yes, I do! Every argument is a two-way street and I know I did not help the situation. I can understand that it was probably pretty uncomfortable to walk in on that.” She would have to thank Tikki for that line later she supposed. 

“Are we okay?” His voice was quiet as he rubbed the back of his neck seeming more nervous to be around her than he had in years. 

“Yeah, we’re okay, as long as you don’t make me chop the onions this time.” Marinette laughed, trying to eliminate the remaining tension in the room. 

“Oh, whatever! You faked cried to Nino last time and we both know it” He said as he shrugged his backpack off his shoulder and onto one of the bar stools.

She gave a triumphant huff and opened the fridge. “You have no proof, Agreste. None at all.” ____________________________________________________________________________  
“So then this guy comments ‘Ladybug and Chat Noir have zero chemistry and like what does this old white guy that lives in his mom’s basement know!”

“Al, do you even know if this is a guy?”

“Whatever, not the point. So I said ‘They clearly do! I have it on good authority,’ and he said ‘who!’ and I said ‘me, dumbass!” Alya raised a hand victoriously and downed the rest of her margarita.

“Wow babe, you really got him. Way to stand your ground,” The DJ wrapped an arm around his girlfriend's waist and gave her a peck on the cheek as the two cooks in the kitchen gave each other a quick glance and a chuckle. 

Adrien and Marinette continued their taco preparation as their friends ‘supervised’. Mari opened the fridge to grab a large onion as well as the knife and uber-stylish onion goggles from the counter and deposited them in front of Adrien’s workstation.

“I said I would cut the onions, but I am not wearing those goggles.” 

“Oh come on! They’re cute,” Marinette picked the glasses back up and placed them crookedly on Adrien’s face. She hated to admit it but even in those awful glasses, he was adorable. The boy gave a dopey smile and tilted his head to the side blinking rapidly. 

“Do I look preeeetttyyy?” The model jested.

The giggling designer took out her phone and snapped a picture. “Oh, this is 100% going on Instagram. Can anyone say model of the year two years running?” 

“Oh no, you don’t!” Adrien lunged forward attempting to get the phone out of Marinette’s hands wrapping his arms completely around her in the process, both secret heroes laughing not realizing their proximity to each other. Marinette held her phone out as far in front of her as she could as the two bodies became closer and closer entwined. Soon the ladyblogger, who was previously too distracted by her favorite DJ, caught on and swept in to steal the phone successfully locking it, and allowing her friend time to think of the perfect caption before someone could delete the picture. Marinette turned around in Adrien’s arms to face him, still giggling. “Don't you have some onions to chop, model boy?” 

Then Adrien, still not releasing her yet, smiled and gave a raise of his eyebrow. “Mari, this is a dangerous game you’re playing. Keep in mind I have 16 Million followers and your parent's numbers. I seem to remember an awfully cute baby picture of you covered in-”

The bluenette wriggled out of her friend's grasp and held up her hands as a sign of truce. “Now, now, now!! No need to go there!!!! How about I won’t post the picture but I also won’t delete it and you just go and chop the onions and we forget all about this hehehe.” 

He knew he was getting the short end of the stick, but he supposed he really didn’t care. So with one final chuckle and a shake of his head, he turned around and began to chop up the onion as Marinette continued unloading the rest of the toppings into their bowls. Maybe Plagg was right, tonight might not be as bad as he thought! Hell, Enzo might not even show-

~Knock knock knock~

“Spoke too soon,” he thought.

“I’ll grab it!”

“Thanks, Nino! It is probably just Enzo anyway!”

Unfortunately for Adrien, Marinette was correct. The dark-haired man came strolling into the kitchen sending greetings to Nino and Alya before coming up behind Marinette, wrapping his arms around her waist, and placing a kiss on her cheek. He quickly pulled back with a wide grin and looked at Adrien. 

“Oh! Sorry man, Should we get an ‘effing’ room?” Enzo chucked and Marinette gave him a stern look and walked off to set the table, leaving the two men in the kitchen. 

Adrien forced a smile. “I suppose I had that one coming.” 

Enzo laughed and nudged Adrien in his side, gesturing into the direction of Marinette who was currently bending over to pick up a napkin she had dropped. “You won’t be the one ‘coming’ tonight if you catch my drift!” 

The blond felt his blood boiling and began chopping the onion fairly aggressively as Enzo made his way out of the kitchen to begin a conversation with Nino and Alya. 

After the onions were very thoroughly chopped, Marinette gathered them up and plopped them in a small bowl. 

“Looks like everything is ready to go! The taco station is officially open for business!’ 

Soon enough everyone had gathered around and constructed their tacos. Adrien stood back and waited for everyone to progress through the line before going himself. As the dinner began, Adrien found himself watching Enzo like a hawk. If he made one wrong move or made any inappropriate comments, the blonde would kick him out faster than he could say, “Blessed day!” Much to Adrien’s frustration, Enzo seemed to be getting along ridiculously well with everyone. With each joke and witty comment the missionary made, Adrien would get more and more annoyed.

“Oh my god, that’s hilarious!” Alya was laughing so hard that she knocked her glass over. Thankfully, Nino grabbed it before anything could spill. He too was enthralled with the story Enzo was telling them about one of his mission trips. This was story number four, and it seemed like no one but the blonde was getting fed up with hearing about all of the amazing things Enzo supposedly did. Marinette was looking at her boyfriend like he was the sole reason the sun shined, and it made Adrien feel sick. He tried to tune out the conversation and focus on the taco in front of him, but a comment from Nino brought him back into focus.

“Enzo, you’re seriously one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met. The stuff you do, it’s really inspiring!”

The tattooed man smiled sheepishly. “Eh, it’s no big deal. I’m just doing what the Lord would want me to do. He’s the one who put me on this track and gave me the ability to help so many people,” Adrien rolled his eyes and Enzo continued, never breaking eye contact with the model. “He knows my intentions are strong, so He helps me do what I need to do.”

Adrien’s eyes narrowed and his anger spiked. Only two people at the table knew the true meaning of Enzo’s words. Even though Chat Noir had found nothing from that night he followed Enzo around after his date with Marinette, Adrien was now sure of what type of person Enzo was. A cheater. Whereas he did go on many missionary trips with his family, the model knew he was doing a lot more than just the Lord's work. Still, Adrien had no solid proof. He knew no one would believe him. Letting out a deep breath to try and contain his anger, he wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up. “You know what guys, I am feeling a little tired so I think I might just go eat in my room and go to bed.” 

Marinette stood from the table prepared to protest. “Adrien! It’s our tradition! You-”

“No Marinette, it was our tradition. It was always just supposed to be a night for us four until you invited him.” He wasn’t sure why he had snapped so quickly at the mention of tradition, but he was not just going to let her put this on him. After all, she invited Enzo, not him.

Her eyes narrowed “You said we were okay.” 

“No, you said everything was okay. This is on you. You should have never invited him in the first place!” 

“Why do you even care, Adrien! What is the big fucking deal if Enzo is around!” 

Adrien scoffed, picked up his plate, and left the table, sneering at Enzo in the process. “I’ll be in my room.”

Marinette was irate. What in the hell had gotten into him! It seems like anything big or small could set him off recently. 

The rest of the table was quiet for a few seconds until Nino stood up from his seat, excusing himself from the table. Everyone had noticed something was off with his best friend and it was time he got to the bottom of it. 

Nino did not waste time in knocking as he pushed the door open to reveal Adrien at his desk pouting. 

Why am I not surprised? The DJ thought. Nino shut the door behind himself and took a seat atop Adrien’s bed. 

The two sat in silence until the shelled hero spoke “So... Do you want to tell me what that was about or…” 

The blond was looking at his feet, back facing his friend. “Isn’t it obvious?” 

“Obviously not to you,” the DJ mentally responded, and said “no” in order to see what his friend had cooked up in his head this time. 

“I just hate when traditions are broken,” Adrien threw his hands up in the air, dropping them back down into his lap and laying his head down on the desk to continue his pouting.

A few moments passed before Nino could accurately respond without snapping at his best friend. At that moment an “Mmmmhmmm” was all he could manage. 

Adrien began aggressively nodding and turned towards Nino, gesturing wildly with his hands. “Like it is a tra-di-tion for a reason! This isn’t how it's supposed to be. It’s supposed to be you and Alya and me and Mari. Not Enzo or anyone else.” 

“Yeah, I get the feeling that the ‘tradition’ isn’t actually why you stormed off…” 

“You know, you’ve been spending too much time with Alya,” Adrien turned back to face his desk once more and set his head down, and then released a loud groan. “I guess it just boils down to the fact that I just cannot stand Enzo. He is an ass and I just can’t keep my cool around him. You have no idea how bad he really is.”

“No, really? You don't like Enzo! This is completely new information!” Nino rolled his eyes.  
“Come on man, I think anyone could tell you don’t like Enzo but why?” 

Adrien whipped around to face him once again “He is awful Nino! He said that he-”

“Dude, is this really about Enzo? Or is this maybe about Mari?”

“I mean she was the one that invited Enzo so..”

“Not what I mean dude. You clearly have feelings for her and it seems to be clear to everyone but you. Well, and maybe her.” 

“UGH! Why do people keep saying that! She is clearly just my friend!”

“I am just a friend, Alya is just a friend, Kagami, Luka, Kim, Alix are all just friends. Marinette is different. You have always treated her differently.” Nino pointed out. 

Adrien let out an exasperated huff. “How so?”

“You took the time to tutor her…”

“I would do that for any friend!”

“Not the way you do for her.” Nino and Adrien were getting increasingly frustrated at the other. “You just act differently around her, happier and more alive even. Plus how many of your friends do you offer to give back rubs too when they have a long day?” Nino wiggled his eyebrows at his best bud.

“You’ve never asked.” Adrien grinned and winked.

Nino rolled his eyes. “Neither has Marinette… Seriously think about it, dude. Do you really think you treat her the same way you treat the rest of us or is there something more?”  
With that, silence passed over the two for a few moments. One look at Adrien and you could tell that the gears had been turning in his mind. Nino could not take his obliviousness anymore. He has to say something.

“Adrien, there was a time in my life where I would’ve killed for Marinette to be in love with me. Then I found Alya. She was right there the whole time, the perfect woman for me. I just can’t believe I didn’t open my eyes and see it sooner.”

“Dude, I am glad you and Alya were trapped in a cage and fell in love and all, but what does this have to do with me?”

“Oh my god, dude! I’m telling you to open your eyes! She is clearly still in love with you and you are so dense, but in love with her.”

“I am not dense! Wait, h-hold on… d-did you just say she was in l-love with me?”  
Some silence passed between the two friends before Nino stood and walked to the door and stated, “You know what? I’m going to go finish my tacos. You coming, man?” Nino’s question was answered with more silence. He turned to see Adrien staring blankly at the wall, the shock on his face evident.

Releasing a sigh the DJ murmured softly, “Or do you need some time to think?” The blonde, eyes still wide as the moon, merely nodded his head, yes, as the shock was still washing over his body. Nino reassuringly said for his friend to take his time before he turned l around and headed back to the others. Right as the door shut the laughter of a small black cat could barely be heard.  
____________________________________________________________________________  
Adrien sat very wide-eyed and still. The weight of the revelation continued to beat down on him as his little kwami laughed while floating around the room.

“Y-You said…” Plagg fought in hysterics and continued speaking while trying to replicate Adrien’s awestruck face “She loves me! AHAHAHA!” 

“Shut it Plagg! This isn't funny!” Adrien glared daggers at the giggling black cat and then the boy was quickly driven back into his shock “oh my god she’s in love with me…! At least she was and now she's with Enzo which sucks because...” he spoke quietly suddenly getting louder with his next thought “Oh my God?! I love her!” Adrien shot up from his place by the desk and started to pace around his room like a mad man muttering under his breath “Holy shit, Plagg. It makes so much sense. I mean all the weird feelings and that weightlessness that I only got those first couple years around Ladybug and I seem to get them around Mari all the time even back then and oh my god she likes me! Jeez, she hid that really well!”

“WHAT!!!” Plagg screeched. “You’re joking! It was so obvious. Did you not notice the stuttering?” 

“Wait, the stuttering was because she liked...ohhhhh.” Adrien shook his head at his Kwami and gave a face of acknowledgment “I can kinda see that now. So...You knew. Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“I mean I did call you two love birds when you were fourteen..”

“PLAGG!”  
____________________________________________________________________________  
“Welcome back, Nino. How is Sunshine doing?” Alya whispered over to her boyfriend as Marinette and Enzo chatted lively about some new restaurant that was about to open up.

“Well…the conversation started with him being mad about breaking tradition and ended with him realizing his feelings for Marinette and vice versa. So, I would say he is a little shell shocked at best.” The man laughed at his own joke. 

“Alright turtle boy, no more Cat Noir Patrols for you. Marinette needs to go talk to him.”  
“I think you’re right, but maybe not right-” 

“Hey girl, I am sorry to interrupt your conversation about noodles, but you should probably go talk to Adrien.” 

Nino rolled his eyes and said “well so much for not right now” under his breath.

“NO! Not going to happen! He has been so rude and-”

“Mari, I know my dude has been a little difficult...”

“A LITTLE? HA!”

“Seriously Dudette, I really think it would be best if you two just sat down and talked everything out rather than just saying everything is good. It doesn't have to be right this second.”

“No, Nino why-”

“Babe, forgiveness is good for the soul. Why don’t you go talk to your friend after dinner when you both have had time to decompress and find your zen.” Enzo beamed. 

“Fine, whatever. I’ll go talk to him, but no promises on the forgiveness bit.”  
____________________________________________________________________________  
Adrien laid sprawled out on his bed looking up at the ceiling and turning to face the picture of his three best friends that sat on his bedside table, he let out an airy laugh and turned back to face the ceiling with the biggest grin anyone had ever seen plastered on the model’s face. “Plagg... I love her.”

“Yeah kid, you’ve been saying that for the past twenty minutes.” 

“God she’s beautiful. I mean she has always been beautiful and so kind, but she has this super quick wit that always makes me laugh. Oh! Her laugh. She has the best laugh.” 

“Alright, I can’t listen to this anymore. This is worse than pasteurized cheese. Don’t just be all dreamy and sickening, what are you going to do about it? And also... what about Ladybug?”

The model released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. “I still love her, I mean I think I will always love her, and part of me will always want more, she was my first love, ya know. It’s been 5 years and I think over those years I have started to really value our partnership and friendship over a crush. Plus I think I am finally realizing that Marinette has been on my mind that entire time. I mean I still keep the lucky charm she gave me at all times.” He shifted around to reach inside his pocket and pulled out his wallet which held the charm. He dangled it in the air between him and Plagg and then returned it to its spot. “There was a huge void when my mother died. I think meeting Marinette helped fill that. Looking back at all of my best ‘Adrien’ memories she is always at the center. Hell, remember when Alya accidentally let it slip that Nette made me that blue scarf, but just didn’t mention it when she saw how happy I was when I thought that dad had gotten me something other than a pen. I know I need to make a move but I have no idea what to do. She’s with Enzo now. Also she is pissed at me and probably not talking to me. What am I supposed to do, Plagg?”

____________________________________________________________________________  
“Marinette…” Alya scolded. 

“Ugh! Fine. I’ll go.” Marinette spoke while escorting Enzo out the front door.

The bluenette made her way down the long hallway to Adrien’s room. She could feel Tikki give her hand a reassuring squeeze. Before she gave a firm knock on the boy’s bedroom door.  
____________________________________________________________________________  
“What am I supposed to do, Plagg?”

~Knock knock knock~

“Nino, I’m still thinking” 

The knocking stopped and a harsh voice spoke. “It's not Nino, can I come in?” Marinette strained. 

With that Plagg and Adrien’s wide eyes locked onto each other, the door, and then each other's eyes once more. Adrien stage-whispered, “Plagg, that's Marinette?! What do I do?”  
“I don’t know kid...maybe open the door?” Plagg flew into his pocket. 

Adrien arose from the spot on his bed and walked to the door holding the knob in his hand. For a split second, he thought of locking the door and hiding from his problems, but he knew that it would never work with her. He paused for a moment and took a deep breath before opening the door to reveal an obviously frustrated Marinette. He stepped aside and let her walk in. 

The bluenette started to open her mouth, ready to give the man a piece of her mind but stopped when he raised his hands in a placating manner. “Please, let me try to explain why I left.”

She crossed her arms and nodded. “Fine.”

Adrien waited for her to sit. When it was apparent that she preferred to stay standing, he started. “I want to start off by saying that I didn’t want to leave. Up until that moment, I had every intention of staying because I knew you wanted this evening to work as much as I did. Even if my mood wasn’t the best, I would have stayed if it wasn’t for the fact that I felt my temper getting a little out of control. I didn’t want to make things any worse than I already had.” He dropped his hands to his sides in defeat.

Marinette took a step towards him and held his hands in hers. “Adrien, don’t you get it? I wanted you to be there!”

His stomach flipped as he held on tighter. “I wanted to be there. I always wanna be there for you, Mari. I just… being around Enzo can put me in a bad mood.”

The young designer dropped his hands and sighed, turning away to try and collect her thoughts. She turned back and looked into his eyes, the anger starting to die out. “What is that about though? Why do you have such a big problem with Enzo? I just don’t get it.”

Adrien opened his mouth, preparing to explain everything to her. She had a right to know how awful and deceitful Enzo truly was. She deserved to know that he was likely cheating on her. As he looked into Marinette’s eyes, he just didn’t know how to say it to her. “I-I don’t…” he closed his eyes before continuing, “I don’t think Enzo is right for you. That’s all.”

His response was met with silence. When Adrien opened his eyes again, he saw that the anger Marinette had walked in with was glowing in her eyes once again, maybe even more intense this time. Another moment of silence passed. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”

Adrien flinched.

“That’s your reason? You have no right to make that choice for me.”

“I’m not making the choice for you,” he argued. “I’m just telling you what I think.”

Marinette threw her hands up, exasperated. “And when did I ask you for your opinion on my relationship? Oh, that’s right, I never did!”

Adrien felt himself getting angrier and angrier. “Okay, well I thought that’s what friends do! They tell each other when they’re making awful life decisions!”

“Well, welcome to the conversation, Gabriel!” Marinette spoke bitterly.

Appalled by her words, Adrien recoiled from his spot near her, “Excuse me?” 

Marinette, who was visibly upset, began gesturing wildly “You know over the past few weeks with the outburst and snide comments it has become so freaking clear. For as long as I’ve known you I have heard people say how you look and act like your mother, but I think if they really got to know you they would see that you are 100% your father's son.” Marinette, shocked by her own words, began to tear up. 

Adrien’s once diamond-like smile and warm eyes shifted to that of a dark grimace in mere seconds. “Do not ever compare me to my father.”

The tears were now flowing harder and faster, this was not how this was supposed to be. She was supposed to come in here and they would apologize and hug and everything would be okay, but that is not how fate had planned this to go. She mentally pleaded and begged herself to stop talking, but the next thing she knew she spoke once again. “Face the truth, all those years locked up with him really turned you into him.” 

She was sobbing, he was beyond frustrated and there was a heavy silence between the two. The only sound was Marinette's sobs as Adrien was refusing to look her way and she couldn't look anywhere else but him. The room was filled with a high pitched chime coming from both Marinette and Adrien’s phones. Automatically the pair recognized the sound as the Ladyblog’s Akuma notification, but neither was very interested at the moment as they both stayed glued in place, one in regret the other in disbelief. Adrien was the first to move, still not making eye contact, he brushed past her, leaving the room. She could hear his footsteps going further and further down the hallway before the front door opened and slammed shut. She was frozen.

“What have I done?” She collapsed to her knees crying even harder before a small red creature began rubbing reassuring circles on her back. 

“What have I done, Tikki? I said horrible things to him. What if he never forgives me,” She spoke in between sobs. 

Tikki continued her soothing gesture. “I promise everything will be alright. This is Adrien, he’ll understand, but you heard the Akuma alert we have to-”

“Tikki!” the young designer pleaded with her kwami as she began to talk faster and faster “I didn’t mean it! How will everything be alright? I want him to be around and I want to stop all this fighting and I wish I could take back what I said because I’m still in love with him!” As soon as she said it her eyes went wide and she made an audible gasp.  
Tikki flew down to grasp Marinette's hands that had previously been cupping her face and spoke softly. “Marinette, I know you have very strong feelings for Adrien and you regret what you said. He knows you well enough to know that you did not mean it. I truly think everything will work itself out, just trust me. I wish we could stay here and sort all of this out, but the world needs Ladybug.”  
With tears streaming down her cheeks, Marinette rose from her place on Adrien's floor and squared her shoulders. She spoke with a sniff “You’re right. Tikki, Spots on!” and weaved her way through the bedroom window

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo that happened...


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get talked out...well... sort of...

Ladybug spent the majority of her trip to the location swinging herself with one arm as she used the other to wipe her face when the tears made her vision too blurry. She landed on a building and wiped at her eyes again, trying to get a good look at the villain under the dim street lights. Chat Noir was fighting a man with electric blue hair dressed in a blue and black unitard. As she got closer, she noticed that he shot his attacks from a guitar. Chat Noir was barely dodging, but before she could swing in to help he catapulted up to her.

“LB, I’m glad you’re here,” Chat Noir looked up and was taken aback by the watery, but the determined look she gave him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. What’s the situation with this guy?”

Chat Noir gave her a look but decided he would come back to Ladybug’s mood after they had defeated the current Akuma victim. “Uh, okay. His name is Smash Hit, and I guess he’s a Jagged Stone wannabe that’s mad that everyone sees him as a one-hit-wonder. You’ve gotta watch out for his guitar. He can shoot out beams that make people do or feel whatever he wants them to. Apparently, it has a limited range, so I guess he’s trying to get to the Eiffel Tower to amplify it. Now let’s go!”

He jumped back down to the streets where Smash Hit had hypnotized some late-night strollers to create a human shield. Ladybug landed beside him and the two charged at their opponents.

After about an hour and a half in which Ladybug and Chat Noir used their lucky charm and cataclysm at least three times each, the duo had finally been successful in stopping Smash Hit. This had by far been their worst fight. The two of them were ridiculously out of sync. Chat Noir had noticed that Ladybug’s mood and performance were off the entire time, but whenever he mentioned it, she’d shut him down. Given the events of the day, he was aware that the same was true for him this evening as well. After making sure the de-akumatized man made it home safely, the two crime-fighting students sat in silence on a high rooftop overlooking the city. Chat Noir wanted to say something but wasn’t sure where to start. Luckily, he didn’t need to speak up.

“Chat? I want to apologize for tonight. I was kind of a mess and I shouldn’t have made as many mistakes as I did. I hope you’ll forgive me.” She looked up into his eyes with a guarded expression. He could tell that she was trying to keep from getting overwhelmed. 

“No worries, LB. I wasn’t on my A-game tonight either.” He turned to look out over the lights of the city. “Seriously though, what’s wrong? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this upset before.”

She took a deep breath and murmured, “If I tell you, promise it won’t change the way you see me, okay?” He nodded and his heart ached at the way her voice wavered.  
“I hurt someone close to me today; I said some very awful things to him. I…” She took a shaky breath and kept going. “He has a bad family history and his relationship with his dad isn’t the best. If I’m being honest, I think his father can be controlling and manipulative. My friend and I… we got into an argument. He was making me angry, angrier than he ever has in the past, and in that moment I told him he was just like his father.”

Chat Noir’s blood turned to ice at her words. Wait, what? He scrunched his eyes shut and when he opened them to look back at Ladybug, the pigtailed heroine was wiping tears from her cheeks. Had he heard her correctly?

“That man caused my friend so much pain, and I knew saying that would hurt him. I know that more than anything else, he wants to be better than his father. More caring, attentive, and present. I know that he has a big heart but he’s been through so much and god, the look on his face when I compared him to the one person whose shadow he was trying to get away from–” she let out a sob, looking up at Chat with teary eyes; the same eyes that he’d seen in his room earlier this evening after Marinette had said those harsh words to him. The blond didn’t know what to say. He sat there stunned for a few seconds, the sound of Ladybug’s crying filling the space between them. They both jumped a little at the high-pitched beeping of his ring. The two of them looked down at it and then made eye contact again. Ladybug was the first to speak. 

“Y-You need to get going,” she sniffled. The bluenette stood up and Chat followed in suit. 

His mind was working at about half its normal speed. Once he comprehended what she said, he sputtered, “What? No, I can’t leave you like this!”

Ladybug was already pushing him away, wiping at the stray tears on her face. “I’ll be alright. I’ll…” she took a deep breath. “I’ll figure something out.”

The beeping got even more insistent as the man looked on helplessly. “But w-what will you do?”

“I don’t know…” She sighed and looked off over her city “I want to apologize. God, I feel awful, but w-what do I do if he never wants to speak to me again?” 

He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. Bright and blue and oh, so Ladybug. But they were the eyes of someone else too. “Go talk to him tonight. I promise everything will be okay.”

Ladybug nodded, and Chat gave her a soft smile. “I’ll see you soon.” He turned and used his staff to propel himself down to the street before disappearing out of sight. 

________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Adrien spent his trip back to the apartment deep in thought. He was going to see her soon and needed to think of a plan. What was he going to say after that? She was clearly guilty over what she had said, but the truth was her words cut deep. But he also wondered if they weren’t partially true. As much as he hated the idea of becoming his father he reflected on his behavior the last few weeks and noticed there were some similarities. He had been as pushy and unforgiving with Marinette as his father had been with him. She was coming to talk to him and he knew this time he wasn’t just going to dismiss it again. This was the woman he loved. Even though her words hurt, the sadness on her face hurt him more. The fighting was tearing them apart and he wanted to be closer. They were partners, they would get over this. It was at that moment Adrien’s mind finally fully connected the puzzle pieces that had been laid out in front of him. They really were partners, because she was Ladybug. About a solid block from his apartment the superhero stopped running and his eyes became impossibly wide. His brain was in overdrive and he was frozen. Marinette is Ladybug.  
________________________________________________________________________________________  
Back in the safety of his bedroom, Adrien was hyperventilating. 

“Breathe kid” the black cat spoke measuredly. “ In through the nose and out through the mouth,” Plagg demonstrated and grabbed the boy’s cheeks to keep his attention.

“I-I can’t...M-Marinette is... and Ladybug is…and I am…” Adrien looked up to the ceiling with a dopey grin and released the biggest sign Plagg had heard in his entire existence.

“How did I not see it! She was right in front of me the whole time! The hair, the eyes, the friend that helped her with her classes...OH GOD! I’m the friend!!”

“Ugh, took you long enough. Now maybe sugar cube and I-”

“Plagg...” Adrien growled, “did you know?”

Plagg tilted his head in the air and crossed his arms “I may have known.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” Adrien erupted.

“Well.. I did not think it was that important.”

“You didn't think it’s important to tell me the two girls I have been obsessed with since I was 14 are actually just one person?!”

“I’m in love with Marinette, who is Ladybug, but I am also in love with Ladybug, who is Marinette. Do you know what this means Plagg!” Adrien grabbed his tiny friend out of the air 

Plagg choked out “That they’re the same-”

“THEY'RE THE SAME PERSON, PLAGG!” Adrien released his friend and collapsed onto the pillow. 

“HA!! I knew you liked pig-tails!” Plagg victoriously pointed at his chosen who looked as if he had seen a ghost. Adrien’s eyes were about as wide as the sun and his grin was slowly catching up. 

“That's what I was going to say before you so rudely-”

“I’ve got to tell her… but what if she gets mad. Do I reveal myself? Do I kiss her? No, that would be creepy.” Adrien laughed “It’s her. It’s always been her.” The blond sat up and faced his Kwami “ What do I do Plagg? I can’t mess this up again.”

The black cat gave the model a sad smile “I don't know kid. I’ve never been the best at communicating my emotions. That’s why I tend to just stick with cheese. Even after centuries I still struggle talking with Tikki sometimes. Maybe just tell her how you feel. I mean she was nothing short of obsessed with for the longest time. Things can’t change that much. But you better think of something soon, didn’t you tell her to come see you?”

Adrien's blood went cold “No no no no…. She's on her way here! I’m not ready! I need to shower!” The boy spoke frantically as he raced around his room trying to straighten up and sliding in front of the mirror to fix his hair.

~Knock knock knock~ 

His heart stopped and his body froze. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, but it was long enough to warrant another round of knocks.  
Marinette sniffed trying to hold back the tears she had just gotten control of “Adrien, please I know you’re in there. Can I come in?” 

His eyes shifted from his own shocked expression to the doorknob, he took a deep breath and began to take small strides to the door eventually reaching the handle and twisting it. The sight was much different from earlier in the evening, she no longer had that determined gaze that would scare any man into submission, classic Ladybug, “god how did he not see it earlier”, but now she looked defeated. She stood before him, teary-eyed and shaking. As soon as he made eye contact with her, she broke. Marinette wrapped her arms around her tiny frame and lost the control she previously had on her tears as she began to speak.

“I-I just w-wanted to say I-i’m sorry and-”

He couldn’t take it anymore, he grabbed her shoulders and tugged her into the tightest hug he could muster at the moment. He held her close as she sobbed.  
Marinette cried out “ I should have never said those things. I was so wrong and If you hate me I get-”

Adrien pulled back and tried to look her in the eyes “Marinette, look at me...” he waited watching her bluebell eyes slowly become visible from behind her bangs. Wiping a stray tear from her cheek, he smiled down at her and said “I could never hate you.”

“But I-I-I said-” 

He cuddled her close again “Hey, It’s alright. Everything will be okay.”

Marinette pushed out of his embrace. She was beyond frustrated. Moving past things and not talking about them is what had gotten them here in the first place. She was over the constant fights and bickering. “NO! It’s not okay, Adrien. We keep just dancing around things and moving on, never really talking about them, then getting mad all over again” Marinette deflated. “I just don’t want to fight with you anymore.” 

“I don’t want to fight either. That’s the last thing I want. You mentioned wanting to talk everything out, so let's do that.” He extended a hand out towards his bed gesturing for her to take a seat. “ So, you want me to be honest, the Gabriel comment stung.” He laughed a little and continued on “like really stung, but I kind of get the feeling that was the point. I have been acting a little more like an Agreste recently and that's not something I want to do. It was a huge wake-up call.”

“Don’t say that and don’t apologize. I was the one out of line. I really am so sorry to have said what I did.” 

There was a silence that hung heavy in the room. Adrien was looking down at the hands in his lap before diffidently murmuring, “I’m not actually like him, am I?”

Marinette, shocked by his question blurted out “Wait, what?”

“I mean be honest with me. Am I like him? Do I treat you-”

Marinette scooted closer to Adrien on the bed and cupped his cheek in her hand. The determination returning to her tone. “Are you joking? Adrien, you are nothing like him. Nothing! You are kind, selfless, genuine, one of the hardest working people I have ever met. And I...” In that second Marinette wanted to tell Adrien everything he meant to her, but held back. Until seconds later when he glanced up from his hands meeting her eyes. Lighting repelled through her body and she acted without hesitation. She leaned in closing the space between them. Adrien's eyes shot open before he had a chance to kiss back, it was over. She had pushed away and was staring at him like a deer in headlights. 

“Adrien, I’m so sorry.”

“Mari I-”

“I-I need to,” Marinette turned and bolted down the hallway to her room. 

________________________________________________________________________________________

Her heart was pounding and her hands were shaking. She could not believe she had just done that. As soon as she rounded the corner into her room Tikki flew out asking how it went. The disheveled girl blurted out “I kissed him!? Oh my god! What was I thinking!”  


“YOU KISSED HIM AND I MISSED IT!” The god whisper yelled.

________________________________________________________________________________________

“Woah, kid. I was not expecting that.” The green-eyed kwami flew up to hover in front of Adrien. He chuckled, “I guess I was right though. She definitely has feelings for you.”  
Adrien was still sitting in the same spot he’d been in when Marinette had kissed him. His face burned and he was sure it was as red as Ladybug’s suit. At Plagg’s words, he fell back onto the bed with a groan. The blond felt like he’d had enough surprises today. He was exhausted and confused. 

“Plagg, what the hell? What am I supposed to do now?” He whined and rolled over onto his side, spotting the unfinished tacos he’d brought to his room when he stormed out of the dining area. Feeling his stomach rumble, he got up and lifted a cold taco to his mouth. The events of the day had left him quite hungry. The taco was soggy and unpleasant but he preferred it to the chance of bumping into Marinette if he left his room. He knew he’d have to see her eventually, but wanted to postpone that meeting as long as possible.  
The Kwami in question swooped in to nibble at a little bit of the shredded cheese left on the plate. He made a face as he chewed. “Honestly, I don’t know what you can do. I’ve never really been in a situation like this. Humans are complicated.”

“Yeah,” Adrien sighed in defeat. “Humans are complicated.”  
________________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning Alya woke up with her head pounding, her room hot, and her bed empty. Where the hell was that boy of hers? The reporter slowly arose from bed and shimmied into her jeans and sweatshirt before making her way into the kitchen. Nino was already dressed and ready for the day as he was taking a sip of his coffee, which was really just a third of a cup of coffee and the rest being sugar and creamer, and eating an omelet. Sitting across from Nino was a man she thought was Adrien, but considerably less perky than his usual self. Adrien was always the first person awake, often being overly chipper for Alya’s liking. She hated morning people, but today he looked rough and that's putting it lightly. She took the seat next to her boyfriend before inquiring, “ You alright, Sunshine?”

Adrien gave her a grimace. “Fine. The long night is all. I didn’t get much sleep.” 

Alya knew Marinette and Adrien had words, hell she bet the whole building knew, but it must have been a lot worse than she realized. Soon after she decided not to press the issue, Marinette stumbled out of her room and walked into the kitchen heading straight for the fridge for her morning yogurt. Alya noticed a pair of green eyes never left her friend's presence. The second Marinette turned around her eyes and the green orbs that were tracing her movements met and she let out a loud ~squeak~ after that Adrien shot up from the table and began fumbling over his words at the same time Marinette began her escape.

“I need to-”

“Um, I have-” 

“I’m going to head out “

“Shower time!” Marinette turned back to her room and Adrien made a mad dash for the door. 

Alya starred at Nino “What the hell was that?” 

Nino shrugged “Aren’t they always like that?” 

Alya rolled her eyes. Last night must have been bad if those two are being so weird. Hell, she wondered if Marinette realized she grabbed the sour cream instead of her yogurt. They had to get to the bottom of this. 

Nino could see the gears turning in his girlfriend’s head, “ Alya we are not getting involved.” 

“Speak for yourself!” 

“ At least give them some time to work this out on their own.”

“Fine. I give it one week and if they don’t figure their shit out I’m getting allll kinds of involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *queue evil laugh* See you all in one week ;)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya and Nino try to talk some sense into their friends...Will it work?

“It has been one week! ONE WHOLE WEEK. 7 days. 168 hours. 10,080 minutes of complete and total radio silence! They have not spoken to each other one time! NOT ONCE, NINO! They get close and make these weird squeaky noises and run the other direction. That's it! I am done and I’m getting involved.” 

Nino looked to the sky. “Never say I didn’t try…” 

Alya gave him a scathing glare and then smirked, “Let’s change this up. I’ll take Sunshine, you take Dupain-Cheng.” They nodded at each other and turned to go into their respective target’s rooms.  
________________________________________________________________________________________  
With a knock and not waiting for a response Alya entered Adrien’s room. “Adrien, let’s have a chat.” She spoke as she saw him lying with his head and legs hanging off opposite sides of the bed. With a jolt, he shot up. 

“Alya! You can’t just barge in like that. It’s ru-”

Alya interrupted, “I knocked, but that’s beside the point, we need to have a chat.” 

Adrien looked at his friend with a guarded expression. “Regarding?”

“Don’t play dumb, model boy. You know exactly what this is about!”

With a half-chuckle, Adrien responded “Honestly, I’m proud of you. I for sure thought you would have said something by now... Nino?”

She nods, knowing they are both aware of Nino’s power against ‘Hurricane Alya’. “Yes, Nino. So why don’t you tell me what’s been going on?”  
________________________________________________________________________________________  
Nino took a deep breath and knocked on Marinette’s door, walking in after hearing a small, “Come in.” He opened the door and found the girl in question sitting at her desk sketching furiously. She didn’t even look up as he walked in and sat down on the corner of her bed. He cleared his throat and still, nothing.

“Marinette,” Nino said in a brotherly tone of voice. She froze, surprised that he didn’t use one of her nicknames. Turning around in her chair, the bluenette sighed as she took in the look on Nino’s face. He patted the bed next to him and Marinette went over to sit down.

“So what’s up?” she chirped, trying to feign obliviousness. He gave her a look, and her facade dropped. “You’re here to talk about Adrien, right?”

“Yeah. What’s going on with you two? Alya and I have been pretty worried.”  
________________________________________________________________________________________  
“So that’s about it. We got into it, said things we didn’t mean, and now we're here,” Adrien sighed.

Alya stared, analyzing his expression. Eventually, she just raised an eyebrow at him.

“What?” Adrien asked as Alya kept staring. “What!” He said in a more frustrated tone.

“Oh, c’mon Adrien, I wasn't born yesterday. The fight isn't the reason you all aren’t talking. You two always forgive and forget. What actually happened last week?”

Adrien had known Alya long enough to realize there would be no way of getting out of her line of questioning. She was an ace reporter after all and would know if he was lying. He felt like the air was getting thinner in the room and he knew he had to answer soon or face her wrath. He leaned his head back and exhaled, “I’m in love with her” before Alya could reply he looked directly into her eyes with the sincerest expression he could muster and said again “I am completely and totally in love with her and I think she’s in love with me too.”  
________________________________________________________________________________________  
Over the course of her explanation, Nino and Marinette had both flopped back from their sitting positions and were staring at the ceiling. “Alright. So essentially things are somewhat better between you two, but the conversation got awkward and you’ve been stuck like this ever since?”

“Mmhmm…”

“And you’re pretty sure you’re still in love with him. I get why you’re avoiding him, but that doesn’t really explain why he’s avoiding you. Are you sure he isn’t still mad at you?”

Marinette nodded vigorously. “He isn’t mad. I know for a fact he isn’t mad.” She got more and more agitated as she kept speaking. “I mean, he’s such a sweetheart; after everything I said, after comparing him to his awful father, he isn’t mad at me! We talked things out and everything was starting to be okay and I don’t know, in the moment we were saying things and he gave me this look and I swear he looked like a puppy that had just been kicked and I was trying to make him feel better so I started saying things and when I looked up at him again, he had a different look on his face and I just kissed him and—”

She slapped her hands over her mouth as Nino sat up abruptly.

“You what?! Dudette, you kissed him?”

Marinette could feel her face heating up. She grabbed a pillow and pressed it into her face, mumbling her affirmation.  
________________________________________________________________________________________  
“Okay...Okay…um yeah. Okay” Alya spoke slowly shaking her head, still staring at the blond. “Alright so, you two being in love with each other is honestly old news to me, but you realizing it, now that’s something I never thought I’d see. So have you told her?” 

“Oh yeah! I totally told her. What was your give away? The yelling and screaming or the utter silence for a week? No, I didn’t tell her!” The blond huffed and crashed his head onto his pillow. “Alya, why am I so bad at this?” he groaned. 

“I don’t know Sunshine, but once you figure it out let Nino and I know. We have been trying to figure it out for years.” Alya chuckled lightly punching the boy in the arm and Adrien continued to groan into his pillow. “But in all seriousness, Adrien, you two have some serious communications issues. You two are clearly not on the same page. Now that you know how you feel for her, I think you really need to think about what you want out of your relationship with Marinette and also what she would want. I mean, you know I have shipped you two since like birth, but what about Enzo? 

“I mean if Enzo is the one…” Adrien trailed off “no, I really do not think he is right for her.”

Alya thought for a moment before saying “The earth does not stop spinning because you do not want to move. You need to figure something out and move forward with it.” She patted him on the shoulder and made her way out the door. “I believe in you, Sunshine, but please do us all a favor and stop the silent treatment.” She winked and shut the door behind her leaving the blond to contemplate her words.  
________________________________________________________________________________________  
“Mari,” Nino murmured. “If I’m being honest, I’m completely stoked that you two kissed. I’ve been rooting for you two since day one, but… this isn’t high school anymore. You can’t keep going back and forth on whether or not you’re ready to tell him how you feel.”

She nodded earnestly. “I know, Nino. The more I think about everything that’s happened the past few weeks, the more I’m starting to believe that the feelings are reciprocated. I’m so, so happy but it’s also a little scary… I feel like I’m back to being that young girl who would stumble around him at every turn. I don’t know what I should do.”

The DJ turned to look at his friend. “You gotta figure this out for yourself. For that to happen, the two of you need to talk. Just… be careful, okay? There are more people involved in the situation this time around. Like, what about Enzo? Are you just going to drop him?”

Marinette’s face heated as she realized that her boyfriend hadn’t even come to her mind. “I… I don’t know.”

The two sat in silence for a few moments before Nino stood up and stretched. “Well, I’ve said really all I had to say. I’ll just leave you to sort out your thoughts. See you later, Mari.”

“Yeah… see you later,” Marinette answered gloomily, her thoughts far away as the door closed behind him.  
________________________________________________________________________________________  
Alya and Nino were heading over to Alya’s older sister’s house to babysit her nephew for the evening. Leaving just Adrien and Marinette in the apartment. The model had about three hours to practice what he wanted to say to Mari but constantly fell short of the right words. He had hoped the right thing would come to him when the time came. 

He decided to exit his bedroom and start making his dinner. Despite never having to cook for himself when he was younger he found the skill came rather naturally to him. It was like a science experiment and something he found great pleasure in doing. He started to make one of Marinette's favorite pasta dishes, secretly hoping the garlicky scent would lure out the girl that had been haunting his thoughts. Soon enough he heard her bedroom door crack open. From behind him, he heard the sound of her footsteps nearing closer to him and he turned around and gave her a smile and said “Hey there, Alya and Nino get to you as well?” 

“Oh most definitely.” They both started to laugh before the silence crept back into the room. Marinette spoke sitting down at the table “Um...so, I’m really sorry about the other night.”

Adrien slid a bowl of pasta towards her. “Actually, speaking of the other night, I kinda have something to talk to you about. You hungry? Wanna maybe talk over some dinner?”

The girl shyly responded “Absolutely, I’d love that. I have some stuff I need to talk to you about as well.” 

Adrien poured himself a glass of wine gesturing to Mari to see if she would be interested. She nodded her head in appreciation as she took the glass from him. Both thinking that the liquid courage may help with their upcoming conversation. Adrien walked around the table, pulled out the chair across from Marinette’s, and sat down. Adrien took a rather large sip of his drink and spoke up. “So, about the other night-”

“Adrien, I really am sorry for that, I know that must have made you uncomfortable and I-” 

The blond slightly chuckled slightly. “Honestly, I was the opposite of uncomfortable. I mean I was a little surprised, sure, but not uncomfortable. Alright, I am trying my best to be honest with you and be upfront so the only thing I wish was different about that kiss,” Marinette’s blush automatically deepened at the word kiss, and Adrien started to rub the back of his neck as he continued, “was that I wish it hadn’t ended so soon.” 

The designer's eyes widened as he began to confess. Adrien was tired of holding back the truth from her. He knew this was it. This was his go big or go home moment and it was too late to go home. “Mari, I hate that we’ve been fighting so much, and I know that I am the major reason for that. That is not at all what I want. I think I have been blind to the real reason I have been frustrated and it wasn’t you. Well I mean it was but it wasn’t like your fault- ugh! This isn’t going how I wanted this to go. What I mean to say is that I’m jealous. I hate seeing you with Enzo because I-” Adrien took a deep breath as he locked his eyes with Marinette's which had seemed to triple in size. “I want to be with you. I have been blind for a long time and I don’t know the exact moment you completely took over my mind, but what I do know is that before I even knew what was going on I was totally in love with you.” 

Marinette was utterly stunned by his words. She had been dreaming of him confessing his love to her since she was 14, and now that it was here she couldn’t believe it. She wanted to respond, she wanted to tell him she loved him too, but she couldn’t risk ruining whatever dream she’d stumbled into. She thought she had worked so hard to get over him, but realized she merely buried her feelings for them to come rushing back. She was now her stumbling young self again and the only thing she could say was “Y-you’re in love with- with me?” She said it in such a small and tiny voice that she thought there was no way he could hear her, but somehow he did. 

He nodded and spoke resolutely “Yes. So much so, Nette. I will say it as many times as it takes for you to believe me.” He stood up from his chair and walked towards her. He kneeled in front of her, taking her hands in his, and smiled. “I love you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng”

She sat there as he held her hands for what felt like an eternity. She still just could not believe this was real. She was frozen. 

“And I know you’re in a relationship, so please don’t feel obligated to respond to this right now or say things that you might not mean.”

The bluenette could feel her longtime crush’s hands trembling slightly. She could tell that this had taken a lot of courage. Still unable to speak, Marinette dropped out of her chair and fell onto her knees only to collapse into Adrien’s arms. She held him tight trying to find the strength to speak. Taking a deep breath she buried her face into his neck and spoke, “I’ve had the biggest crush on you since we were 14. That’s why I always stumbled around you, all because you gave me a stupid umbrella.” She pulled back to look at him. “I’ve tried so many times to get over you. On my own, with Luka, with Enzo." Marinette slightly paused at the mention of Enzo's name, "And that’s the problem. Enzo is still in my life and I can’t give you the answer you want right now.”

Adrien smiled. “I know, and honestly I just want you to be happy, but I couldn’t keep not telling you the whole truth. You being happy is the most important thing to me and I understand totally.”

“I’m so sorry-”

Adrien stopped her, getting to his feet and bringing her up with him. “Stop. You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m sorry if I made things awkward.” 

“It’s not that at all. I just need some time to think. Okay?” The bluenette smiled. 

“I totally understand. We are friends first and foremost, and I don't want that to change.” Adrien grinned and glanced down toward their dinner. “Also, I think that our food has gone cold.”

Marinette took a forkful of noodles and let out a laugh “Something tells me you’re right. I actually may head out and grab something on my way to the library. My professor is hosting a study group tonight at 7 since my midterm is this Friday.”

“Oh, shit! Marinette, I totally forgot about your midterm if you need any help please let me know.” 

“Well, I’m feeling pretty confident, and I’m sure you’ve got your own coming up, but if you’re free Thursday at some point would you be willing to run through my review sheet with me?”

Adrien grabbed his pasta bowl and took it to the kitchen to put it in the microwave. “Yeah, absolutely. I don’t have any midterms for my classes anyway.” He stuck his tongue out at her as she was walking towards her backpack on the living room chair. 

Marinette picked up her things and turned back toward him. “Ugh, you suck but thank you. I do appreciate it. I’ll see you in the morning?” 

“See you then!” He responded with a smile and a wave and made her way out the door.  
________________________________________________________________________________________  
Once Adrien was alone Plagg flew out from his room and shook his head in disbelief. 

“What?” Adrien asked. 

“You really just laid it out there, didn’t you? Sugar Cube and I were impressed. I’ve got to say I was betting on pigtails confessing first.” Plagg flew over to Marinette’s pasta and began to pick the cheese off it. “Bleh, is this bagged mozzarella?”

Adrien rolled his eyes and let his head fall off the back of the chair and released a happy sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A week really pushed our dear Alya to her limits. We both love the friendship between Alya/Mari & Nino/Adrien, but we really wanted to explore the other pairs. I think Nino and Mari would have the cutest friendship. Also, Adrien laid it all out there, didn't he? Parts of his little confession were actually based on real things my boyfriend has said to me. So, shout out to him. On that note, any predictions on what's going to happen next? 
> 
> Once again, thank you all for reading and commenting. We both love hearing from you all. We hope you all are excited about what's to come.
> 
> SCHEDULING UPDATE: Depending on our schedules over the next week we may postpone updates by a week or two. The goal is not to do that, but we shall see. 
> 
> XOXO,   
> B & I


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette goes on a little dinner date.

The week had gone by in a flash. Marinette had breezed through her midterms, and things between her and Adrien had been going pretty well. Everything seemed to be falling into place. That was until she started getting ready for her date with Enzo that evening. Things with Enzo weren’t bad per se, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized they weren’t right either. Marinette made her way out of her room and walked across the hall to Alya’s. She popped her head in the open door to see Alya lacing up her sneakers, about to leave.  
________________________________________________________________________________________  
“Do you have a minute?” Marinette asked. 

“Hey, M, What’s up?” She looked up from her shoes and smiled.

“Does the skirt look fine? I just finished it and wanted to make sure it didn’t look like some quick job.” 

Alya laughed. “Everything you make is designer tier, girl. It looks amazing. Which of your boyfriends are you seeing tonight?”

The bluenette laughed sarcastically. “You’re hilarious. But to answer your question, there is only one boyfriend. Enzo is picking me up in about 20 minutes.” 

“So you chose Enzo? Honestly, after that whole week of silence and the kiss-”

“AH AH! No need to bring that up again,” Marinette sputtered, getting red at the memory of the kiss. The day after Alya’s conversation with Adrien, Alya cornered Marinette and demanded the details from the kiss. That night Mari had reassured her that it was “just a kiss,” but Alya being Alya, just could not drop it. 

The bespectacled girl rolled her eyes and asked again: “So, did you make your choice?” 

Marinette let out a sigh and slumped down on the bed. “No, I have not made a choice. Things with Enzo have been off. We’ve barely had any conversation since the whole Taco Tuesday incident, and I don’t know if that's because of the whole Adrien thing or if it’s something else.”

“So, I shouldn’t throw out my Team Adrien shirt just yet?” Marinette play-punched her friend's arm as Alya continued to laugh. “In all seriousness, I hope tonight will bring you some clarity. Just do what feels natural.”

Marinette nodded. “Just go with the flow and do what comes naturally. Gotcha. In other news, where are you off to this evening?”

Alya got up, spun around to show off her outfit, and mimicked, “Do the joggers look fine? I just finished them and wanted to make sure it didn’t look like some quick job.” Marinette giggled and tossed a pillow at her best friend. “Nino’s parents are going to Normandy for the rest of the week. I guess they got tickets to some wine tasting, so that leaves Nino and I on house sitting duty until his aunt gets here tomorrow afternoon. Honestly, I think a chill night at home will help alleviate some of Nino’s pre-show nerves.”

“Nino has nothing to be nervous about! He’s going to be great. He always is.” Mari smiled.

“Oh girl, you’ve got no idea. Thank god for Adrien. He has helped with the whole classical music part of this. From what I’ve heard, it sounds really great.” Before Marinette had a chance to respond, the DJ in question walked in, dressed in almost the exact same outfit as his girlfriend. 

Looking Alya up and down, Nino said, “Ah-ha! Great minds think alike, babe. You ready to head out?” 

“One sec!” Alya leaned in close to Mari. “Remember, M, do what feels right and just try to have fun tonight.”  
________________________________________________________________________________________  
Marinette walked out of Alya’s room and made her way to the living room to wait, turning on the TV to surf through the channels absentmindedly. She heard a bedroom door open and shut, and a moment later, Adrien had flopped onto the couch next to her. “Hey. You look nice.”

“Hey, yourself,” she murmured. She’d finally settled on an old episode of What Not to Wear and was only barely paying attention to the fashion disaster on screen. “And thanks. I’m actually, uh, going out with Enzo tonight.”

“Oh. Well, that’s cool. I hope you have fun,” Adrien replied. Marinette couldn’t hear the usual bitterness she was used to getting when Enzo came up between them. She could tell that he was really trying his best to respect her wishes, and she was very grateful. 

She gave him a soft smile. “Thanks. Do you have any big plans for the night?”

“No, not really. I’m probably just going to do some studying. Physics doesn’t wait for anyone, you know?” They both laughed as Marinette nodded in agreement. Turning back to the TV, the two watched as Stacy London picked through the clothes of the young woman they were helping and sent them into the trash.

“You know, I’ve always wondered what they do with all of those old clothes. Like do they have a bunker somewhere? There’s no way that they really throw them all away.”  
Marinette snorted. “That’s actually a pretty good question. I doubt it’s a bunker, but yeah, I guess they do go through a lot of clothes on this show…”

Adrien was about to respond when they heard a knock at the front door. The two students made eye contact for a moment before Marinette jumped up to go open the door. She let her boyfriend in after he gave her a kiss on the cheek. Enzo smiled, and he took in Marinette’s outfit. “You look lovely. Are you ready to head out?” 

“Hey, man,” Adrien greeted the upperclassman with a wave.

“Oh, Agreste! I didn’t notice you there! I guess I was just too distracted by Marinette’s beauty.”

Adrien’s smile was bittersweet as he looked into Marinette’s eyes and responded, “Yeah, she sure is beautiful.”

The dark-haired girl ducked her head as a blush started to bloom across her face. When she looked back up, Adrien was smiling at her like she was the moon, sun, and stars. A moment passed and was ended by Enzo clearing his throat.

“Okay,” he dragged out. “We’d better get going. We have a reservation.”

Marinette shook her head to clear her thoughts and nodded. “Yeah, let’s go. I’ll see you later, Adrien. Good luck with your homework!”

The blonde nodded and got up to head back to his room; the couple left with Marinette locking the door behind her.  
________________________________________________________________________________________  
Once at the restaurant and seated, their table presented a nice portrait of downtown Paris. Marinette looked out at the view, thinking back to the exchange she had with Adrien at the apartment. The way he looked at her...no one had ever looked at her that way, not even Enzo. Then the car ride to the restaurant had been the longest 8 minutes of her life. Very few words had been spoken, and all were from Enzo. Her boyfriend was a very talkative guy and usually dominated the conversation, but never did Marinette remember not wanting to respond. Whatever was going on didn’t feel natural, but she knew she was just looking for all the negatives and had to stop. 

“Hello? Marinette?” She came back to attention as Enzo snapped his fingers at her. “You were spacing out a little, babe.”

“Huh? Oh, sorry about that.”

“No worries. So, like I was saying earlier. I was having this problem with one of the members of the student tour team. He was very adamant that he needed to be the one to take a certain group for their tour. He wanted to switch with me, and when I refused, he started throwing a fit! Like a full-blown temper tantrum. I guess he was a sophomore, and his girlfriend’s going to be a freshman next year, so he wanted to see her. Honestly though, sometimes this type of stuff makes me feel like the stipend isn’t worth it!” He huffed in frustration, getting ready to continue his rant.

A short waiter approached the table with a smile. “Good evening. Have you all had a moment to look over the menu?” 

Enzo responded quickly, “Oh, yes! Thank you. Um, we will have two of the chicken confit, and can we get a bottle of the house white, please?” 

Marinette felt a twinge of annoyance at the fact that he ordered for her. “Um, actually, can I have the Cassoulet?”

“Oh, trust me, babe, the chicken is much better. Two of those, please.” Enzo handed the waiter their menus, and she bussed off to the kitchen. Marinette was finding it harder and harder to not see only the negatives. She caught herself zoning out more and more as the date went on. Was Enzo always like this? Was she always just going along with it? Once their food arrived, Marinette picked at the chicken and took a few bites over the next half hour. She was feeling very low energy. 

“Babe, are you not hungry? I can finish it if you don’t want it.” He slid her plate over and put his empty one in front of her. She took a large sip of wine and sighed. He looked up and gave her a grin. “I wanted to let you know again how amazing you look today. And that skirt, is it the one you’d been working on the past few weeks? The fabric looks familiar.”

The bluenette became just a little more animated at his words. “Yes, it is! I finally finished it this morning and thought it would be a great look for tonight. Actually, it’s pretty funny how many little problems I ran into while making it. It’s a little different from the other things I’ve made before. Like there was this problem with the hem that I just couldn’t-” 

She was cut off by Enzo’s cell phone ringing. He looked at the caller ID and then at Marinette.

“Is it okay if I take this call?”

“Is it important? I kinda don’t wanna be-”

“Oh, don’t worry, it’ll only take a minute.” The dark-haired man answered the call and broke into a big smile. “Hey, there! No, I’m not busy right now. What’s up?”

Marinette’s eyes widened at his words. Not busy? She frowned as she tuned in, listening to him speak to whoever was on the other end of the call.

“Yes, that’s totally fine with me… Can we meet a little later? Yeah? Okay. I’ll text you the info. See you then. Bye.” He hung up and took in his date’s expression. “What?”

“Who was that?”

“Oh, it was just a member of the freshman transfer group. She was having trouble with getting some of her hours logged in. The website is really picky, so I’ll probably have to show her what to do. Don’t worry about it. So, what were you saying?”

She blinked a few times. “Uh, I was talking about making my skirt…”

“Yes! You said something went wrong?” Enzo placed his phone face up on the table. From Marinette’s seat, she could see that he had a few messages, but she couldn’t make out the name of the sender. He opened his phone and typed a short reply before looking up at her again. “Keep going! I’m listening.”

“Oh, okay…”  
________________________________________________________________________________________  
For what seemed like the 100th time of the evening, Enzo had picked up his phone and started texting. Whoever was on the other end of the phone had captivated all of Enzo’s attention. Marinette was at the end of her rope.

“Is there something else you should be doing right now? You seem very preoccupied.” Marinette questioned with a little more bite to her words than intended. 

“Oh no, It’s just the transfer group girl, again. Helping her get acclimated and all, ya know.”

“Well, it seems important enough to be glued to your phone, Enzo.”

Enzo rolled his eyes. “Babe, it’s nothing. No need to get so jealous.” 

Marinette had it. She was so frustrated and felt like she had put up with enough. Again she started to think back to when she first met Enzo. In the beginning, he was so sweet to her, but over the past few weeks, she had noticed a change. Was she just so blinded by the looks and friendly persona to see how much of an ass he’d become? Maybe Adrien had been right. Whatever way she thought about it, she kept coming to the same conclusion. She needed a break. She needed to get away. 

Enzo was giving her some poor excuse and continued to expand on her jealousy. She didn’t want to hear another word. “Enzo, I think I need a break,” she blurted out.

Enzo had ceased his chattering, “From dinner or-”

“Us, Enzo!” She exhaled. “I just need some time to think. I- I just… things are just crazy right now. I just need a little time.” With each word, she was becoming calmer. Channeling her inner Ladybug to give her strength. 

“So let me get this straight; you want us to go on a break? For what reason? If there was something the matter, you should’ve just talked to me.” 

Mari sighed. “I know this sounds stupid, but this really isn’t you. Things have just gotten so,” she thought for a moment, “complicated. I just need some time to think and get my head on straight.” 

Enzo was becoming angry. His tone grew tenser with every word, “How long is this break? What do you expect me to do while you’re taking your time? Just wait around for you? I think I’ve been patient enough with you.”

Marinette’s eyes began to narrow. She took a deep breath and said, “Enzo, I told you I need some time. It is not my job to tell you what to do with yours.” Marinette tossed her napkin on her plate. She was not staying another minute. She reached in her purse and grabbed some money, and handed it to the boy. “Thanks for dinner. I’m getting a cab home.”

While Marinette walked away, Enzo yelled after her, “Are you seriously just ditching me?! What the hell, Marinette?!” 

As Marinette made her way outside, she wasn’t 100% sure how to feel, but she did know one thing, a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. He wasn’t a good fit for her. She had liked him at first, sure, but she never loved him, and she isn’t sure she ever would. Alya had told her to do what was right, and for the first time in a while, she felt like she was making the right decision when it came to Enzo. She decided to walk a few blocks to clear her head, starting in the direction of her apartment.  
______________________________________________________________________________________  
“Marinette, are you okay? What happened? I thought Enzo was driving you home.”

She looked down to see Tikki’s sleepy eyes blinking up at her. The kwami must’ve fallen asleep in her bag. She gave her a smile. “I kind of just called things off with Enzo and left.”

At that, Tikki’s eyes were immediately more alert. “What? Just now? Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m one hundred percent okay. It just felt right. I’m not sure why, but I feel more energetic now than I have in weeks.”

“Is that why you’re walking?”

“Yep! I just feel like moving right now.” She turned the corner and headed towards a crosswalk, sticking to the well-lit areas.

The bug paused before responding, “That’s good! But wasn’t that restaurant nearly five kilometers away from the apartment? It’ll take you a while to get back, plus you’re wearing heels.”

Marinette stopped abruptly, nearly causing a middle-aged couple to bump into her on the sidewalk. With the adrenaline rush, she’d received from leaving Enzo at the restaurant, she hadn’t even noticed how her feet were starting to ache. “Oh, I guess you’re right.” The young woman moved out of the way and leaned onto the nearest building. 

“Marinette, are you sure you’re fine?” 

Hearing the concern and skepticism in Tikki’s words made her stop and really think for a moment. “I… am. For the first time in a while, I really do feel completely okay.”

“Then I’m happy for you. But, please, get a cab.”

Marinette chuckled at her Kwami’s pleading. “Okay, okay, I will.”

She stepped out towards the edge of the sidewalk and hailed a cab with a smile to make her way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bout' damn time, huh? This is not the last we will be seeing on Enzo the A-hole so don't get too excited. Maybe some of your predictions will come true soon... This is a chapter we had originally not planned on writing but decided on it for reasons you will soon see! Hope you all enjoyed it!
> 
> Update on writing schedule: So we are going to try our best to get next weeks update to you all on time, but we may also take a couple of weeks pause(3 at most) to ensure we are not rushing the writing process. We originally planned a pause after Ch 10, so we hope to stuck with that.
> 
> As always we really enjoy your awesome comments. I feel like every writer says this, but it's true, your comments and support really do make us excited to write! So thank you all for your support! 
> 
> XOXO,   
> B & I


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little...spicy.

After fumbling with her keys, Marinette unlocked the front door and kicked off her heels. She set her keys and bag on the counter and reached up to untie her hair from her bun, letting it fall around her shoulders with a shake of her head. She was making her way to her room when she caught sight of a door at the other end of the hallway cracked open with the light on. With a smile, she headed toward the lit room. The designer pushed the door open the rest of the way and walked over to her friend’s bed and flopped face first into the comforter.

Adrien was quietly working at his desk when she walked in. When Mari collapsed on his bed he let out a little chuckle and turned around to speak. “Hi there.”

Marinette turned her head slightly to face him and let out a small groan. 

“You’re home kinda early. Everything alright?” 

The girl sat up and took in the man’s appearance. He rarely wore loungewear, but boy did it work for him. He was wearing a black pair of joggers and a loose-fitting white t-shirt, to top it off he was wearing his glasses. Marinette distinctly remembered the first time she had seen him in his glasses, they were in their second year of high school. Her stutter had ceased the year before, but the second she saw him it came back with a vengeance. Since then, seeing him in his glasses had always made her heart beat a little faster. Tonight was no different. 

“Mari? You good?” Adrien asked with a little concern to his voice.

Marinette hadn’t realized she had just been staring at him for about a solid minute. She let out a sigh. “Yeah, um, I’m alright. As for the date...I don’t know. It absolutely was not the best.” 

Adrien rolled his chair a little closer to the bed and said “Do you want to talk about it?” 

“It’s just- ugh.” She dropped her head back onto the bed in frustration. “I don’t know. There was just something not right and he was on his phone literally all night. Like when he wasn’t talking all about himself and was texting this one girl- oh! And he ordered for me! Like who does that without consulting the person. So, guess I just had enough and told him I wanted a break.”

“Oh, uh, wow.”

Marinette continued, barely acknowledging his comment. “Yeah, and when I told him that I wanted a break and needed a little time he got super mad, so I gave him the money for my food and took a cab home. But you know the craziest part, I feel so free, like I feel this huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.” She rolled onto her back and beamed up at the ceiling.   
Adrien was thoroughly confused and somewhat overwhelmed by the mass amount of information that had just been dumped on him. He was thrilled to find out she had basically ended it with Enzo but as happy as he was he knew he needed to make sure she was actually alright. “So... you’re happy about this?”  
Still smiling she said, “Yeah, as weird as it sounds, I am.” There was a little bit of silence before she sat up and spoke again. “Enough about me, though. We just had midterms. Why are you all cooped up studying?”

The blond smiled. “The grind never stops, Ms. Dupain-Cheng”

Marinette let out a laugh “You know what, I think you need some time to relax just as much as I do. I have an idea, why don’t we do hot chocolate and movies. I’ll go put on my PJs, you brew the cocoa, and we meet back in here to pick out a movie. Sound like a plan?”

At that moment, the drive in her voice was unmistakable. He really didn’t know how he hadn’t seen it before. This was his lady and his princess and by god, he was so in love with her. So with a smile, he arose from the chair. “You had me at hot chocolate.”

________________________________________________________________________________________

Adrien stood in the kitchen heating up the last cocoa. Marinette walked out of her bedroom in her pajamas. She had ended up putting on an old oversized Francois Depont sweatshirt and a pair of shorts and looked adorable. The microwave beeped and he carefully took the second cup out and handed it to Marinette. They made their way back to Adrien’s room where Marinette sat the cocoa on his bedside table and crawled back onto his bed, sitting up against the headboard. The model turned off the light, set his drink down, grabbed the remote to pull up Netflix, and sat in his desk chair. 

Marinette looked over at him and said. “What are you doing? Get over here.” 

Adrien smiled and sat on the opposite side of the bed on top of the covers with his back against the headboard, just like Marinette. He began flipping through Netflix, clearly suffering from a big dose of indecision. It had been about 6 minutes of flipping before Marinette had enough. She made a grab for the remote, and he pulled his arm away saying a mix of “heys” and “stop its”. She kept reaching around trying to grab the remote.

“Adrien, give it! You had your chance to pick. Come on!” She hadn’t realized the close proximity she had put them in. She was laying basically on top of him and he had an arm around her waist in an attempt to pull her back. Shortly after Marinette spoke the two made eye contact and both froze, they were so close. There was a heavy tension in the air. Adrien, looking like a deer in headlights, blinked and handed Mari the remote with a smile. Feeling a little awkward she climbed off of him, immediately missing his warmth, and began to search the selection that was before her. 

She flipped for about five seconds before seeing a title that piqued her interest, “Oh my gosh, The Princess Bride. Can we watch it? I haven’t seen it in years!”

Adrien smiled and said, “As you wish.” 

Marinette smiled back and started the movie.   
________________________________________________________________________________________

The designer was extremely satisfied with her pick. Within the first few minutes of the movie, she realized Adrien must have seen this almost as many times as she had, as he had been quoting certain lines from the movie under his breath. She didn’t know what she liked watching more, the movie or him. When it got to the scene where Andre the Giant spoke the famous line “anybody want a peanut” Adrien had said it right with him then proceeded to giggle. The blonde looked toward Marinette and noticed her stare. He’d given her a sweet smile that was accompanied by a small blush before saying, “Sorry, I’ll stop talking”

“No!” Marinette protested. “I’ll like seeing you so into it.”

They both smiled at each other for another moment before facing back to the screen. Subconsciously, Marinette had begun to scoot closer to Adrien as the movie progressed. They had gotten to the part where the Dread Pirate Roberts and Inigo Montoya were sword fighting and yet again Marinette's attention had been drawn back to Adrien. She noticed him slightly jerking back and forth like he was dodging the attacks. She giggled softly and looked back to the movie. The giggle caught the boy’s attention, but not enough to break his focus from the movie. He noticed that it had become somewhat harder to hear so he started to search for the remote around until he remembered she had the controls. Much like she had done earlier, he reached over her body and retrieved the remote from her side. He turned the volume up slightly and had somehow ended up much closer to her than he had originally been. Unbeknownst to themselves, they both yearned for the other to be nearer. At this point, they were nearly shoulder to shoulder. They were both so comfortable and content. The stress of the day was starting to weigh down on Mari and she let out a small sigh and tilted her head resting it against Adrien’s shoulder. They remained like this for about twenty-minutes until Marinette’s body shook. At that moment Marinette had realized that shorts were not the best idea. It was usually fairly cold in the apartment, but for some reason, Adrien’s room was freezing. The shiver had caught the eye of her companion. 

“You know if you’re cold you can get under the covers,” Adrien said

Marinette did not hesitate, she crawled under the sheets to lay down and rejoiced in the warmth they held, yet slightly sad that she was no longer as close to Adrien. 

“Warmer?” He asked

“Somewhat. I get cold really easily, though.” 

He smiled and scooted closer, not sure where the burst of confidence had come from. He wrapped his arm around her and she snuggled in. The position was a little weird as she was under the covers and he wasn’t. It was nice, but Marinette was not satisfied. 

“You could get under the blankets too if you want. I-I mean it is your bed.”

“I-I’m okay. I mean I’m not that cold, but if- if it would help you get warmer” Adrien trailed off.

The designer grinned. “I think that may be a good idea. I mean it would be a lot warmer.” 

With that, Adrien crawled under the blankets, laying his head against his pillow, and pulled her close again. Marinette curled into him, putting her hand on his chest, and laid her head against her hand. The boy then draped his other arm around her waist. All the repositioning had caused Mari’s sweatshirt to begin to ride up her back and Adrien slowly brushed his hand under her sweatshirt and began rubbing circles on the exposed skin.

Marinette inhaled sharply as the touch sent shockwaves through her body and his fingers left goosebumps in their wake. She looked up, only to be met with Adrien’s striking green eyes. She noticed his gaze shift from her eyes to her lips, and his hand on her back move up to brush the stray hairs out of her face. They were impossibly close, but somehow they got even closer and their noses began to brush. In the next moment, their lips had just barely touched, and like a spark to a flame, one of Adrien’s hands was at the base of Mari’s neck, the other at her waist. Marinette moved a hand into his hair, pulling him deeper into the kiss. 

As the kiss became more heated, Marinette continued to gently tug on his hair and her other hand began grabbing his well-toned bicep. Adrien squeezed her tighter against him. They could now feel each and every movement between the two. The kiss continued to deepen as Adrien lightly swiped his tongue across Marinette’s bottom lip. The contact sent a shiver down her spine, and she gasped into the kiss. Adrien took the chance to nip at her bottom lip, pulling a soft moan from her throat. 

In one swift movement, Marinette rolled out of his hold and positioned herself on top of him. Adrien’s hands immediately positioned themselves on her hips slowly making their way toward the swell of her ass. Giving it a slight squeeze, Marinette bit her lip and held back another moan. This boy had some sort of power over her. She was completely entranced with him and wanted more. 

The movie long forgotten, Adrien flipped their positions, angling on top of her. The blond began leaving a trail of kisses down her jaw, and he continued to her neck, occasionally nipping and sucking at her pulse points. The girl started to tug at the bottom of his shirt. Adrien leaned back and the blanket that had been covering him pooled around his waist. He lifted his shirt over his head and tossed it to the other side of the room. Marinette quickly examined his well-toned physique in the dim moonlight from the window before he leaned back down to continue his assault on her neck. As he nipped and sucked, he crept his hands under the hem of her sweatshirt waiting for any sign of protest. In response, Marinette arched her back and removed the offending garment. Adrien made his way back to her lips, drinking in every bit of her he could. The blunette reached behind her back and removed her bra. She reached for one of Adrien’s hands and placed it on her chest. Adrien began kneading and took in the sounds of pleasure leaving her lips. His fingers continued to slowly circle her hardened nipple as his mouth engulfed the other. Marinette’s hands ran down his back as she pushed herself up towards his mouth. The feeling of his tongue swirling on her breast was driving her insane.  
Marinette could feel the pressure building within her, causing her to gasp. His hand slipped up underneath her shorts caressing her bare ass as his mouth continued its ministrations. He released her nipple with a pop, slightly looking up to see Marinette’s face contorted in pleasure. He removed his hand from her as he began stroking up and down her sides and he kissed down her torso. Marinette let out a string of needy whines as she began to squirm. She was on fire and had become impatient with his slow and sizzling kisses as they crept lower.

“A-Adrien please..I-I need-”

Placing a final kiss right above the waistband of her shorts, he stared up at her with a dark look in his eye, one that Marinette had never seen. That look did things to her. Now not only was she on fire, everything burned and it burned for him. She needed him. He continued to look at her as a devilish smirk formed and he purred, “Please what?”

Marinette was barely able to breathe let alone speak. “P-Please,” she whined and slightly pushed his head further down her body. 

Adrien let out a chuckle. “Impatient, are we?” He placed another kiss right above her waistband and gradually dragged her shorts and underwear down her legs while never once breaking eye contact. He tossed the garments away and he stroked his hands back up and down her thighs leaving goosebumps in their wake. He placed two small kisses on her knees before spreading them apart. Marinette felt a flutter in her stomach as the anticipation rose.

Adrien looked back at her waiting for her approval and she let out a small whimper. He bent down and placed featherlight kisses near the base of her inner thighs. Marinette brought her legs down to rest on Adrien’s shoulders. His fingers traced across her thighs before coming down to part her lips. God, he wanted her. He nestled in closer as Marinette’s fingers coiled into his hair. He positioned himself and dipped his tongue into her, moving it in slow swirling motions. Her hands in his hair became rougher and more insistent as he found a rhythm, enjoying the way he could make her whimper. For a while, he alternated focusing on pleasuring her with his fingers and tongue before inserting his first digit into her pussy and sucking on her clit. 

“Oh fuck, Adrien…yes.” Marinette was almost seeing stars with the way he was lapping at her cunt. She could feel heat pooling in her as she got closer and closer to release. Adrien crooked his fingers at an angle that had her crying out, “Yes! There...God...don’t stop!’

Adrien kept up his pace at her breathy words. He was completely enamored with the way she sounded right now. He loved watching her come undone. Suddenly, she tensed and gasped aloud. Her body convulsed with the pleasure racking her body. Marinette cried out as time momentarily stopped and her vision blurred. 

Adrien lapped up her juices and pulled away as her shuddering began to die down. He sat back gazing down at her beauty and attempted to commit the scene to memory. Her hair was fanned out around her head like a dark halo. Her brow shone with sweat and the silvery light made it just barely noticeable how flushed she was from her head to her chest. She looked absolutely irresistible.

After Marinette had caught her breath her hands pulled at him, guiding his face back up to hers. He bent down for another fiery kiss that left them both breathless. “You really are good at everything.” Marinette cooed in between kisses.

Adrien let out a laugh as he began to feel the girl beneath him tugging at the pockets of his joggers. He immediately got the message and removed his pants followed closely by his briefs. Marinette felt his hardened length brush against her, and she felt electricity in her veins. She let her hands wander down his body and lightly brushed her fingertips against him. Adrien's body jerked. She began to slowly stroke up and down his length over and over, feeding off of his sweet groans of pleasure. Adrien was finding it significantly more difficult to keep kissing her and eventually just nuzzled his face into her neck. She firmly grasped his cock in her hand and carefully brushed her thumb over the tip.

“Oh god, Mari,” Adrien panted. “I’m not going to last much longer if you keep this up.” 

Marinette ceased her movements, not quite releasing him, and gave him a seductive smirk. “Oh? Did you have something else in mind for this evening?” The boy pulled his face out from her neck and began kissing her once more as he ground against her causing the two of them to moan and he started to blindly reach for his bedside table. 

“Eager aren't we?” Marinette spoke with a giggle and a wink. She maneuvered around his hold and leaned over to open the drawer, pulling out a grouping of small foil packages and ripping one from the bunch. She leaned back and was once again trapped underneath his arms. She reached for him but before she could get close enough he pulled away. Adrien made a very serious face and asked, “Marinette, are you sure you want to do this? Like really sure?” 

Marinette didn’t need a second to think, she knew the answer. She wanted him. She has always wanted him. This was it and there was no way she was backing out now. She beamed up at the boy who lingered over the top of her and responded, “I’ve always wanted this, Adrien.” Marinette swore she heard a “thank god” before he dove in and wrapped her up into another kiss. She ripped open the package and looked up at him. He gave her a reassuring smile and she began to roll the condom down his length. She watched as the movement contorted his face from reassurance to one of pleasure. He adjusted his position in between her thighs. He lined himself up with her entrance. Both of their expressions were shrouded with anticipation.

He could feel the heat from her core radiating through his body. He could tell she was absolutely dripping and could barely contain himself. He locked eyes with her and slowly started to enter her. The feeling was unlike anything else. Sure, he’d had sex before, but this was something entirely better. With Marinette, it felt right. Just the tip inside her was enough to make him cum right there. She was so tight, so wet. He was losing himself in her completely. Marinette on the other hand was dying. She wanted him inside now. She was squirming closer trying to inch him in. Was he torturing her on purpose? 

“I-I’m not a virgin, you don’t have to hold back or be so cautious.”

“A gentleman is always cautious when it comes to fine women.” He smirked.

“Good thing I’m no gentleman.” Marinette wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him the rest of the way inside her, causing a choked growl to emerge from Adrien’s throat. 

“Oh god, you’re going to be the death of me,” He panted. They both took a second to catch their breath and adjust to the new position. Marinette was in heaven. This had to be some sort of dream. Every bone, every nerve, every last piece of her was electric. She felt so full and could stay like this forever. Then he started to move. The thrusts started out slow. With each whine or murmur coming from Marinette, Adrien felt a new surge of energy. He was thrusting faster and faster. All thoughts in his mind were gone. Some animalistic, carnal urge had fully taken over. He reached for her wrists and pinned them above her head. With this Marinette began to cry out and arch into him causing him to plunge deeper into her. 

“A-Adrien… oh... Yes! Faster!”

He found himself pressing his face into her neck again. A guttural growl rang from him and he started slamming into her. He couldn’t think; he felt euphoric. Adrien kept his hold on her wrists with his left hand and brought his right to rub at her clit. Marinette screamed. Her toes curled, and her body began to shake. Her screams were turning into little whimpers as her vision to black. She was wrong before, this was heaven. 

Adrien's once steady pace soon turned erratic as he edged closer and closer to his release. He moaned, “Fuck, I’m close...” and pressed his lips to Marinette’s as he hit his breaking point. 

With one final thrust, he joined her as he dissolved into overwhelming pleasure. He rolled off over her and laid next to her on the bed. Their bodies were sizzling as they panted in exertion. Adrien rolled the condom off and placed it in the wastebasket next to the nightstand. They both laid down staring up at the ceiling in the dim light of the TV, still trying to steady their breathing. The blonde pulled the discarded covers over their bodies and laid back on the pillow. Marinette curled back into and cuddled close. He leaned his head back and gazed lovingly at the bluenette. Marinette caught his gaze and looked up at him in a questioning manner. 

“What?” He continued smiling down at her. She laughed and asked again, “What?” 

With a look of pure adoration, he said, “You are so ravishing. Honestly, absolutely incredible.” 

“Well you were pretty incredible yourself back there,” she patted him on the chest and they both laughed. In the background, they could slightly hear the sound of the end credits. Marinette looked toward the TV and murmured, “Looks like we missed the rest of the movie, next time let’s pick something I don’t actually want to watch, or better yet, skip the movie altogether.” 

Adrien’s brain short-circuited. Next time? Did she say next time? There was going to be a next time. God, he hoped so. He couldn’t help himself. He pulled her closer and whispered in her ear, “Next time, huh?” 

She pushed herself slightly out of his hold and faced him. She could feel her face was redder than a tomato. ”I-I um did I say-'' she stopped herself. Who was she kidding? She wanted this. She can’t run from her feelings forever. “Yes. I did say next time. There will be a next time, well... As long as you're okay with that?” 

The boy kissed her long and hard. “Does that answer your question?” She began kissing him back. He moved to deepen the kiss, but a preview for another Netflix program began to play. 

Adrien searched for the remote amongst the mess of sheets and turned off the TV shrouding them in darkness.

“Now, where were we?” a chorus of laughter echoed through the halls of the apartment as the two lazily kissed until they drifted off in one another's arms.

______________________________________________________________________________________

*Bonus Scene*   
Somewhere in the Apartment….

“Looks like I won this one Sugar Cube.” 

The red kwami folded her arms in front of her “I don’t think so. He made the first move. He said he loved her, remember? Marinette confessed after. Tonight? That was all Adrien. I am sure of it. ”   
“ Nuh-uh! My kid did absolutely nothing. Worthless. He just doesn’t listen to all my golden teachings. It was alllll her. You owe me and you know it. I want my prize,” Plagg started inching towards her

“Oh no. Not going to happen.” Tikki spoke as she darted away.

“Tikki! Come one! Just one!” He yelped as he flew after her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me, father, for there was siiiin! So, I hope you all enjoyed this week's update. Some of you actually had pretty close predictions. We were very impressed. So, now that Mari and Adrien have had some fun, what do you think will happen next? What do you think the reward was from Tikki and Plagg's bet?
> 
> This chapter was actually something we were both super nervous to post, but are glad we did. We have both been reading and/or writing fanfic since about 6th grade (we're both at the tail-end of college now) so we thought the time has come. So, this is the first time we have actually posted smut! In writing this some hilarious memories were made, but more importantly, I think we both have a newfound respect for you kick-ass writers out there that write this stuff so well! So, with that, we're eager to know everyone's thoughts and comments. Once again I hope you all enjoyed it! Thank you all for your support! We love and appreciate you all!
> 
> P.S. There will most likely be a 2-week pause before we get the next chapter out. We both work and do school full time so it can be hard to plan, but we will get it out ASAP.


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